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November 17, 2022
An Ambulatory Emergency Care Unit has been opened at St John of God Midland Public Hospital to provide urgent assessment and treatment for patients presenting to its Emergency Department.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Dyer said the unit has been designed to reduce waiting times, improve patient flow, avoid unnecessary overnight admissions and enhance the patient experience.
“With fewer patients requiring an overnight stay, it will reduce waiting times in the Emergency Department and enable more beds to be available in the hospital,” Mr Dyer said.
“Suitable patients will be identified in our Emergency Department and prioritised for transfer to the Ambulatory Emergency Care Unit for same-day assessment and management.”
If required, patients will return to the unit the following day for an outpatient follow-up appointment for further investigations, or to review the patient to ensure they have not deteriorated.
Mr Dyer said that as a busy public hospital, with one of the busiest Emergency Departments in Perth, St John of God Midland was always looking at ways to help reduce waiting times and enhance patient care.
The new unit includes nine bays and is supported by a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, allied health professionals as well as the hospital’s specialised Geriatric Emergency Department Team and Red Hot Foot (podiatry) team.
WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the unit was part of the Government’s commitment to improving access to emergency care.
“The unit aims to avoid the situation where patients may need to stay overnight while waiting for test results,” Ms Sanderson said.
“Instead, patients can return to the comfort of their home, and then attend an outpatient appointment the following day to find out about tests results and receive follow up care.”