Chief Minister and Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher has launched the ACT Emergency Department live data website to help patients make an informed decision about which public health facility will best meet the immediate needs of patients, particularly those with lower-urgency conditions.
“The website shows real time data about the current activity of both Calvary and Canberra Hospital emergency departments including the number of patients currently waiting for treatment and the number of patients likely to present within the following two hours, ” the Chief Minister said.
“The website also reminds people of other options for receiving care and treatment, including the use of the walk-in centres and local General Practice.
“It is designed to help people make an informed decision about the best and quickest place to seek treatment, particularly for patients with non life or limb threatening conditions.
“A cross-section of emergency medical and primary health professionals took part in a roundtable last week where this website was discussed and feedback from those professionals has been incorporated into the website which is going live today.”
Canberra’s two emergency departments see over 100,000 patients each year, a growth of 25% since 2008-09 with a population growth of 9% for the same period.
“The number of people presenting to hospital for treatment is disproportionate to the population growth and the ACT Government has recognised that we need to ensure the community is well informed about other alternative treatment options.
“The emergency data website is one way the ACT government is providing the community with up to date information to assist them in making decisions about where to seek treatment.
“The real-time emergency data website will also enable the community to see how busy these departments are and highlight some of the positive work our emergency departments are doing,” the Chief Minister concluded.
People can view the website by visiting http://health.act.gov.au/emergency/live-emergency-data-information