Data shows an increase in patients through ED

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Acting Nurse Unit Manager Anna Goldsmith outside the expanded Emergency Department at Toowoomba Hospital
Acting Nurse Unit Manager Anna Goldsmith outside the expanded Emergency Department at Toowoomba Hospital

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The latest publicly available performance data has revealed the Toowoomba Hospital emergency department is treating more patients than ever before.

The latest quarterly data shows more than 16,000 patients attended the ED, an increase of close to 12 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

Toowoomba Hospital Executive Director Shirley-Anne Gardiner said the recently completed emergency department expansion facilitated more patients receiving treatment.

“At the end of last year, we unveiled an $11 million expansion to the Toowoomba Hospital emergency department,” Ms Gardiner said. 

“This expansion resulted in additional triage and treatment spaces, enabling more patients to access our services and creating a modern working environment for our staff.”  

Toowoomba Hospital Nursing Director Patient Flow Jeff Reeves congratulated staff for their continued hard work. 

“Emergency departments can be busy environments in which complicated and complex medical decisions are carried out. This performance data is a real testament to the hard work of our staff and their commitment to providing the very best emergency care to residents and their families,” Mr Reeves said.

“Our staff do an outstanding job of working effectively and providing health care to people on what is often their worst days.”

Toowoomba Hospital Nursing Director Patient Flow Jeff Reeves.

Darling Downs Health Chief Executive Annette Scott PSM said the expansion enabled Toowoomba Hospital to manage the demand for emergency services whilst the new hospital was built at the Baillie Henderson  campus.

“We know there is a growing demand for our services at the current Toowoomba Hospital CBD site, with record numbers of ED presentations,” Ms Scott said.

“As demonstrated by this performance data, we are managing to see more people through our ED whilst also improving our waiting times.”

The median wait time across all category patients is just 19 minutes.

Additionally, the ED’s Patient Off Stretcher Time (POST) also significantly improved with 80 percent of patients being transferred off an ambulance stretcher within 30 minutes; an increase of 13 percent compared to the March 2022 quarter.

The emergency department expansion was funded by the State Government as part of the Covid Recovery Program.

The $1.3 billion New Toowoomba Hospital is currently being built at the Baillie Henderson campus and is expected to open in the second half of 2027.