Emergency department admissions jump 24.5 per cent at Cowra Health Service

"The severity of the COVID-19 outbreak in Western NSW created extraordinary challenges but we are immensely proud of all our staff during this period," said Mark Spittal, acting chief executive officer of Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD).

The figures from the Bureau of Health Information (BHI), released on Wednesday, December 15, show a 24.5 per cent jump in emergency department attendances between July-September 2020 and the same period this year.

For Cowra Health Service 36 per cent of Triage 5 (non urgent) attendances were identified as likely to only be for a COVID-19 test.

In all, there were 1953 ED attendances in the three months to September 30 this year, an average of 200 a day and up from 1569 a year earlier.

But it was not only COVID testing that was stretching emergency staff between July and September with year-on-year increases for three of the five triage categories in the ED.

The most significant hike came in the T5 (non urgent) category, up 63.7 per cent from 179 to 293, while T4 (semi-urgent) admissions were up 35.9 per cent from 707 to 961.

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Emergency admission (T2) were up by five percent from 159 to 167.

T1 cases (resuscitation) were down 46.2 per cent from 13 to seven.

There was just a single extra emergency (T3) admission with 407.

Arrivals by ambulance were down 6 per cent to 344 admissions, 22 less than the previous year.

COVID-19 testing caused increases in non urgent emergency department figures across the west .

For Bathurst Health Service 96.6 of triage 5 attendees were identified as being for a COVID-19 test, at Dubbo Base Hospital 61 per cent were for COVID tests and at Orange 41.8 per cent.

But Western NSW Local Health District acting chief executive Mark Spittal said the BHI figures showed Cowra's emergency staff were performing well despite the increased strain.

"During the quarter, 92.6 per cent of patients had their treatment start on time in the ED, significantly higher than peer group results of 79.6 per cent," Mr Spittal said.

The number of patients starting their treatment on time at the Cowra Health Service was the best of all hospitals in the Western NSW Local Health District.

Meanwhile, the number of elective surgeries performed at Cowra Health Service Hospital fell dramatically across the three-month period following a statewide pause on procedures as health authorities responded to threat posed by the Delta variant of COVID.

"Cowra Health Service continued to perform urgent elective surgeries through the quarter and 100 per cent were performed on time," Mr Spittal said.

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Cowra performed just 96 non-urgent surgeries between July and September, down from 148 for the same period in 2020.

There was an 18 day increase drop in the average waiting time for non-urgent surgeries at Cowra Health Service, the local wait of 331 days still well above the average of 216 days for similar hospitals across the state.

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