Emergency Departments

Wednesday, September 30

"Record low" RAH numbers as pandemic empties nation's emergency departments

The Royal Adelaide Hospital has seen patient numbers at its emergency department plummet, as the pandemic clears hospital EDs across Australia by up to 50 per cent.

Doctors "lost control of ED" after planned EPAS shutdown: union

Doctors lost control of an Adelaide emergency department after the hospital’s electronic patient health records system was switched off at the start of the hospital’s busiest day, a union inspection report says.

Many of the extended waiting times occurred at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Photo: InDaily/Nat Rogers

Mental health ED wait times lowest in a decade: SA Health

The length of time mental health patients are left waiting for treatment in SA hospitals is the shortest it has been in a decade – 9.6 hours on average – new data shows.

Health slammed, systemic change urged in blackout review

UPDATED: A combination of human error and entrenched systemic failure has been blamed for the failure of backup generators at Flinders and Port Augusta hospitals during September’s statewide blackout, while a broader review of the emergency response warns against “ad-hoc and inconsistent” response protocols, recommending sweeping changes.

Mental health emergency room waiting times halved

The number of mental health patients languishing for days in South Australia’s emergency departments has steeply declined, new figures show.

Transforming Health: the questions that need answers

It is now eight months since the release of the Transforming Health (TH) proposals for a massive overhaul of our health system. Since then, we have been given little information about how these proposed changes, particularly, the closure of the Repat, will be accomplished and accommodated within the existing hospital system.