NSW Ambulance and the GRACE (Geriatric Rapid Acute Care Evaluation) team at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Health Service have developed and implemented a simple low cost mechanism taking advantage of already available resources in the Local Health District. It is streamlining patient presentations to the emergency department for patients with sub-acute or chronic health issues. This mechanism allows the GRACE team access to the booking icon alert when an ambulance is booked for response to a residential aged care facility in the area.
As a result of this innovation we have achieved an additional 15 per cent reduction in unnecessary hospital presentations.
