Despite sustained high demand Murrumbidgee hospitals continue to deliver quality care

MLHD Chief Executive Ms Jill Ludford thanked staff for their hard work throughout this period of high activity.

“Our emergency departments continued to provide care within timeframes well above the state average, and our ambulance transfer of care times are once again among the best in the state for this quarter,” Ms Ludford said.

Efficient emergency department performance:

More than eight in 10 patients (82.9%) started treatment on time, which is above the state average of 66.4%.

Almost nine in 10 patients (86.5%) were transferred from paramedics to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time – also better than the state average of 78%.

The majority of patients (75.2%) were able to leave the ED within four hours, also above the state average (58.4%).

“I thank our highly skilled and dedicated workforce. These results are a testament to their hard work,” Ms Ludford said.

There were 37,509 emergency department presentations across the District from October to December 2022. Of these 21,070 presentations (56%) were in the semi-urgent (triage 4) and non-urgent (triage 5) categories.

Actively reducing elective surgery wait times:

MLHD is working hard to reduce elective surgery wait times, which have been impacted by necessary pauses on non-urgent elective procedures throughout the pandemic.

MLHD completed 1,936 elective surgeries in the October to December quarter, with almost all urgent elective surgeries (99.4%) performed on time. MLHD continues its surgical recovery plan, with 80 fewer patients on the waiting list compared with the preceding July – September 2022 quarter.

“I thank the community for their patience during this challenging time and assure everyone our District is continuing to work hard to carry out those procedures that were postponed during the COVID waves as soon as possible,” Ms Ludford said.

“Patients due to receive non-urgent elective surgery who have been impacted by the restrictions are encouraged to seek medical attention should they experience a change in their condition so they can be clinically reviewed and re-prioritised to a more urgent category if required.”

MLHD continues to remind the community to continue to support us. If an illness or injury is not serious or life-threatening, we encourage you to call Healthdirect Australia on 1800 022 222, for a 24-hour telephone health advice.

INDIVIDUAL HOSPITALS' PERFORMANCE

Wagga Wagga Base Hospital

There were 11,850 emergency department attendances at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital in the October to December 2022 quarter.

More than two thirds of patients (69.4%) started treatment on time – better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (63.2%).

More than eight in 10 patients (82.2%) arriving by ambulance were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is also above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (76.3%).

During the October to December 2022 quarter, 1,405 elective surgery procedures were performed, and all urgent elective surgeries (100%) were performed on time.

Also, during the quarter there were 328 babies born at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital.

Griffith Base Hospital

There were 5,955 emergency department attendances at Griffith Base Hospital in the October to December 2022 quarter.

More than seven in 10 patients (75.9%) started treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (67.4%).

Almost all patients (95.8%) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (85 per cent).

Further, more than two thirds of patients (73.3%) were able to leave the ED within four hours, also ahead of comparable hospitals in NSW (60.9%).

During the October to December 2022 quarter at Griffith Base Hospital 301 elective surgeries were performed, with all urgent surgeries (100%) performed on time.

Throughout the quarter, 106 babies were born at Griffith Base Hospital.

Young Health Service

There were 2,403 emergency department attendances at Young Hospital in the October to December 2022 quarter.

Almost all patients (94.8%) started treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.2%).

More than nine in 10 patients (92.9%) were able to leave the ED within four hours – well above the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (79.2%).

During the October to December 2022 quarter, Young Health Service completed 107 elective surgeries and 35 babies were born.

Deniliquin Health Service

There were 2,886 emergency department attendances at Deniliquin Hospital in the October to December 2022 quarter.

Almost all patients (97.1%) started treatment on time, which is well above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.2%).

More than eight in 10 patients (85.1%) were able to leave the ED within four hours – also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (79.2%).

Nearly all patients (94.8%) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (93.3%).

During the October to December 2022 quarter, Deniliquin Health Service completed 39 elective surgeries and 20 babies were born.