Forbes Hospital saw a jump in the number of urgent cases coming into the emergency room in the first quarter of this year, statistics released by the Bureau of Health Information this month reveal.
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The number of people needing urgent treatment – with examples given as moderate blood loss or dehydration – jumped from 223 in the same period last year to 305 in the first quarter of 2018.
The average patient triaged as urgent waited 16 minutes to start treatment, five minutes longer than the same time last year.
That’s quicker than the State average, a wait of 20 minutes.
Patients triaged as “emergency” – BHI gives chest pain or severe burns as example cases – waited an average six minutes to start treatment in Forbes.
That’s one minute longer than the same time frame last year, but still ahead of the State average of eight minutes.
Patients classed as “semi-urgent” waited a median 23 minutes to start treatment.
The good news is, we’re getting out of the emergency department faster: more than 90 per cent of patients leave emergency within four hours of presentation.
Health service manager Liz Mitchell says Forbes Hospital’s staff have done a great job of ensuring people are seen and treated promptly.
“Forbes Hospital has done really well in terms of when a patient presents, how quickly they are treated, and then we get them home or admitted,” she said.
That’s due to excellent doctor coverage as well as the availability of nurse practitioners to treat the semi and non-urgent patients, Ms Mitchell explained.
Overall the number of patients coming in to the ER in the quarter has dropped from 1615 in 2017 to 1477.
The biggest drop was in non-urgent cases, down to 514 from 804. That decline in particular is good news.
Ms Mitchell urged people who needed a GP to attend Forbes Medical Centre or Yoorana Gunya to see a doctor, keeping the hospital’s resources available for emergency cases.
Forbes Medical Centre does offer a Saturday morning drop-in clinic, intended for urgent “on the day” issues only. They’re open from 9.30am to 11.30am.
Patients are seen in the order they arrive at the clinic, and are encouraged to arrive by 11am to ensure they can be seen by the doctor on the day.
Western NSW Local Health District is preparing for a busy winter, with Chief Executive Scott McLachlan saying there are extra staff at the district’s hospitals to ensure peaks in demand can be met or staff sick leave covered.
He reminded people to get their flu vaccination, clean their hands and stay home when sick to avoid spreading illness this winter.