Summary
This article published by The Conversation looks at the pressures faced by ambulance services and emergency departments across Australia as a result of Covid-19. There has been an increase in 'ramping', where ambulances queue up outside hospitals. Ramping is a sign that the whole health system is under immense pressure. The article looks at the large amounts of funding Australian local governments are putting into ambulance services and emergency departments (EDs), but highlight that this will not solve the issues face by the health system if issues discharging patients into community and social care remain.
It highlights a model developed in Leeds, UK, that has been adopted by the health service in Victoria, Australia, focused on solving more systemic issues. The Leeds model aims to improve patient flow in and out of the hospital and ensure that patients are quickly transferred from ambulances into EDs. Discharge coordinators organise the care patients need in the community after an ED or hospital stay. The authors also look at the role of community paramedics in keeping patients out of hospital and their potential to reduce financial and capacity pressure on health systems worldwide.
0 Comments
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now