A coordinated approach to the distribution of booked ambulance workload within and across Local Health Districts and Specialty Health Networks will assist in balancing demand and capacity. It will ensure timely access to assessment, diagnostics and definitive care.
The focus is to ensure collaboration between NSW Ambulance, Patient Transport Service, LHD and hospital services facilitates appropriate avoidance and distribution of workload. This will allow required access to care and works with the current Patient Allocation Matrix. The Patient Allocation Matrix guides the distribution of emergency ambulance patients across the network of hospital emergency departments in Sydney, the Inner Hunter and the Central Coast.
Services are routinely requested to be more efficient. It is important to ensure that health care is safe and delivers high quality outcomes for patients, whilst allowing for the planning and distribution of workload. There has been a greater understanding that the health system is an integrated ecosystem that is operationally connected across the whole spectrum of care.
Ongoing implementation of this strategy will create tertiary level capacity to ensure that patients requiring specialist care are able to be transferred within medically agreed timeframes.
To view an example of prescheduled ambulance management within the North Sydney Local Health District see the management plan.