Reducing wait times in hospital emergency departments

Help for the vulnerable in new federal funding

In NSW emergency departments, consumers who are older, have a disability, present with a mental health condition, are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or come from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, will be involved in research to improve the safety and quality of care they receive when visiting a hospital emergency department.

Macquarie University will lead this project addressing the needs of people with complex health conditions, who when they attend an emergency department, often spend longer than average there and have worse outcomes than the general population, including greater likelihood of multiple return visits.

Macquarie University has been awarded $2,836,550 from the Medical Research Future Fund for this 5-year project led by Associate Professor Robyn Clay-Williams at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, who says “These communities have higher rates of presentation to emergency departments than other Australians and improving their care will reduce hospital waiting times for everyone.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples visit an emergency department 2.5 times more than other Australians and their rate of metal health presentations is more than four times higher. People with a disability visit emergency departments twice as often as people without disability. People over the age of 85 years have the highest rate of presentation to emergency departments.

“We will be working directly with people who often have multiple serious health conditions and can face communication and cultural challenges in making their needs understood, as well as with the clinicians who care for them in hospital emergency departments. They will be involved in co-designing improvements that will be introduced into emergency departments, making a real difference to people’s health and their experience in hospital,” says Associate Professor Clay-Williams.

This innovative and highly collaborative project will work to improve people’s experience while they are in the emergency department, reduce their length of stay and improve their care outcomes (including for instance receiving a diagnosis or treatment plan, or being admitted to a hospital ward), says Associate Professor Clay-Williams.

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) for Macquarie University, Professor Sakkie Pretorius welcomed the announcement made by Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Greg Hunt. “This is a clear example of how research led by Macquarie University is meeting the healthcare needs of the people who need it most in our community,” Professor Pretorius said.

The research will be conducted in Westmead and Blacktown Mount Druitt Hospitals in Western Sydney, and successful improvements rolled out to other hospitals to improve acute care and experience for vulnerable people who visit emergency departments across NSW.

Western Sydney Local Health District chief executive Mr Graeme Loy said he was looking forward to working with Macquarie University on this important project.

“With a rapidly expanding population and an increasing demand for emergency care, I believe western Sydney will be an excellent and strategically important location for this research with Macquarie University that will help improve care for our vulnerable community members”, Mr Loy said.

The project team includes researchers from Macquarie University and the University of New South Wales, along with clinicians from Westmead and Blacktown Mount Druitt Hospitals’ emergency departments. Partnering with the research team will be the Western Sydney Local Health District, the NSW Emergency Care Institute (NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation), the Department of Social Services, Health Consumers NSW and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

Chief investigators on the project ‘Models of Care to Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Acute Care’ are some of Australia’s leading experts on improving the safety and quality of care for vulnerable patients:

Associate Professor Robyn Clay-Williams, Macquarie University
Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, Macquarie University
Associate Professor Reema Harrison, Macquarie University
Associate Professor Yvonne Zurynski, Macquarie University
Associate Professor Peter Hibbert, Macquarie University
Associate Professor Rebecca Mitchell, Macquarie University
Professor Henry Cutler, Macquarie University
Matthew Vukasovic, Westmead Hospital
Reza Ali, Blacktown Hospital
Dr Leanne Holt, Macquarie University
Dr Donna Gillies, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Dr Louise Ellis, Macquarie University
Dr Elizabeth Austin, Macquarie University
Dr Kate Churruca, Macquarie University
Dr Ramesh Walpola, University of New South Wales

Associate Professor Robyn Clay-Williams is available for interview.

Centres related to this news

Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science

For further information, please contact

Chrissy Clay, Media and Research Outreach Coordinator

Back to the top of this page