Over-capacity emergency departments are choked with patients waiting for a bed in wards choked with patients waiting for a bed in the community.
Eighty-seven patients being treated in a 69-bed emergency department with 35 others ramped awaiting treatment – that was the situation in the biggest hospital in Adelaide on Monday afternoon.
Royal Adelaide Hospital declared a code white – operating above official capacity – at 3pm, as did Flinders Medical Centre, which was treating 75 patients in its 63-bed ED, and the QEH, which was treating 48 patients in its 44-bed ED.
Things were not much better at 11.30am today, Adelaide time.
FMC had 64 patients with an average waiting time of 115 minutes. Lyell McEwin Hospital had 82 patients being treated in its 59-bed ED and RAH had 78 patients under care.
According to the Adelaide Advertiser this morning, SA Health data showed there were 116 people stuck in EDs who had been treated but were waiting for a suitable bed, including 24 who had been waiting 24 hours or more.
SA health minister Chris Picton said there were 273 people in metro hospitals ready for discharge but “who are stuck due to a lack of aged care or community-based support”.
“We know there is incredible demand on our hospitals, which is why we are building a bigger health system, including more than 600 additional hospital beds,” he was quoted as saying.
“While the state government is set to open more than 330 of these beds by the end of next year, we need the federal government to meet its aged care responsibilities.
“Right around the country these federal aged care problems flow right through to emergency departments.”
The elective surgery waiting list in SA now stands at 22,102 patients ready for surgery, including 4623 listed as overdue.
