10 November 2004

September hospital bypass performance

Sydney metropolitan hospitals recorded a significant improvement in the number of bypass hours recorded in September according to the latest data released today by Health Minister Morris Iemma.

“In September metropolitan hospitals recorded an average 30% reduction in the number of hours spent on bypass,” Mr Iemma said.

“This improvement is to be expected as it correlates to the seasonal reduction in hospital demand associated with the end of winter,” Mr Iemma said.

The Minister said after touching a 12 month high in August, hospital bypass performance the September improvement was in line with expectations.

“While the total number of “code red” hours fell from 10,059 in August to 7078 in September there is still an enormous amount of work to be done,” Mr Iemma said.

“Our growing and aging population continues to put pressure on the NSW public hospital system, so we have developed plans to add more beds to the hospital system and improve the flow of patients through the hospital system,” Mr Iemma said.

“I have said before there is no magic bullet that will instantly ease the pressure on our hospitals so we are investing in our hospital infrastructure to deliver sustainable improvements.

“In recent weeks I have visited hospitals from the Mid North Coast to Campbelltown I have been enormously encouraged by the enthusiasm of our clinical staff to tackle the causes of access block and hospital delays,” Mr Iemma said.

Hospitals recording the most significant reductions in the number of hours spent on bypass include:

Mount Druitt Hospital 92 hours less on bypass, a 55% improvement;

Blacktown Hospital 142 hours less on bypass, a 48% improvement;

Ryde Hospital 196 hours less on bypass, a 48% improvement;

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital 244 hours less on bypass, a 46% improvement;

Canterbury Hospital 275 hours less on bypass, a 41% improvement;

St Vincent’s Hospital 228 hours less on bypass, a 33% improvement;

St George Hospital 139 hours less on bypass, a 24% improvement;

Other hospital performance data indicates that while year to date admissions are down very slightly on last year, length of stay is creeping up, increasing by 1.3% in September.

While presentations to emergency departments was largely unchanged on September 2003, admissions from emergency departments to hospital wards increased by 2.2%.

State-wide access block figures also improved incrementally recording a 2% reduction to 36%.

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au