- All Category 1 patients who visited Cairns and Hinterland & Torres and Cape emergency departments during second quarter of 2023 treated within 2 minutes
- 52,496 presentations across CHHHS & TCHHS emergency departments
All patients requiring the most urgent care in the Cairns and Hinterland region were treated within 2 minutes, according to the latest Queensland Health performance data.
For the second quarter of 2023, all category 1 patients who visited Emergency Departments, across the Cairns and Torres and Cape hospital and health services, were treated within the clinically recommended time (2 minutes).
There were 45,837 presentations across CHHHS emergency departments and Cairns Hospital ED recorded 23,084 presentations over the three months.
6,659 patients presented to TCHHS hospitals.
Patients at all CHHHS Emergency Departments were waiting a median of 18 minutes to receive treatment, with Cairns Hospital patients having a median wait time of 16 minutes in the ED.
Across TCHHS facilities, the median waiting time in the most recent quarter was 13 minutes, with 90 per cent of all presentations seen within the clinically recommended waiting times for their category.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman:
"While we have seen some improvements, we know there is much more work to do.
"Our emergency departments managed a record number of presentations, more than 10,500 than the same quarter last year, and our patient off stretcher times remained steady, at 55 per cent.
"Despite the rapid population growth we're experiencing, and despite being the busiest in the country, our ambulance service is doing incredible work to look after their communities.
"These improvements would not be possible without the hard work, dedication, and commitment to patient care from our health care workers, who I thank for their tireless efforts.
"I can assure Queenslanders that our $764 million Putting Patients First plan to keep Queenslanders out of hospital is bolstering our frontline health workforce and strengthening the Queensland Ambulance Service.
"It is delivering more beds and delivering the major hospital upgrades and expansions we need to provide the best health-care possible.
"The Palaszczuk Government is making the necessary investments to provide quality healthcare closer to home, for all Queenslanders."
Quotes attributable to the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Chief Executive Leena Singh:
"CHHHS has an 'Access to Care Project' which is a clinically led program looking at improvements for addressing patient flow across the hospital," she said.
"This program includes initiatives such as redesigning and improving the model of care for medical patients; early senior clinical decision making; improving patient flow; and improving our ED mental health services.
"Plans are progressing on the design of a dedicated Surgical Centre in Cairns, which will lead to expanded capacity at Cairns Hospital.
"The new centre will be delivered by 2026 and is planned to include operating theatres, a ward and outpatient consultation rooms.
"It will also deliver much-needed expanded capacity for elective and emergency surgery to meet the needs of our community into the future."
Quotes attributable to Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Interim Chief Executive Mr Dean Davidson:
"A total of 6,659 people were seen in emergency departments across the Torres Strait, Cape York and Northern Peninsula Area during the June quarter this year,'' he said.
"The percentage of patients requiring hospitalisation, who were admitted to hospital within 4 hours across all 5 categories in the June quarter was 84 per cent, which was above the benchmark standard of 80 per cent.
"In regional areas like ours, this proportion can be affected by the number of patients awaiting aerial transfer to a larger hospital for more complex treatment.
"For clinical patient safety requirements, patients awaiting transfer elsewhere may be managed in the Emergency Department until their retrieval flight arrives.
"This may require a stay of longer than 4 hours in the ED.
"Some patients may also require more than a four-hour stay while tests such as medical imaging and pathology are done to diagnose their condition.
"For patients who did not require hospitalisation, 94 per cent across all categories were in and out of emergency within 4 hours during the June quarter, well above the target of 80 per cent.
"In the June quarter, a total of 67 patients received their elective surgery.
"At 30 June, no elective surgery patients had been waiting longer than clinically recommended for their procedures.
"The Torres and Cape HHS delivers a wide range of specialist surgical services, both visiting and in-house, as part of its elective surgery program management.
"The combination of visiting and in-house specialist services means that Torres and Cape residents normally can obtain many specialist consultations within their local community, thereby reducing the impact of having to travel or waiting longer than clinically recommended for assessment and treatment.''
