Glenside Health Services

Admitted patient activity

Various types of care are provided to admitted patients. The care type describes the overall nature of a clinical service provided to an admitted patient during an episode of care. This is not the same as the diagnosis or condition that a person might attend hospital for. A single type of care can be used to manage many different conditions. Care type can be classified as:

Acute care
Newborn care
Subacute and non-acute care—Rehabilitation care, Palliative care, Geriatric evaluation and management, Maintenance care and Psychogeriatric care
Mental health care.

Explore the data

In the data visualisation below you can explore the number of hospitalisations by care type for public and private hospitals between 2017–18 and 2021–22, and by hospital, between 2012–13 to 2021–22.

Highlights

In 2021–22, for the public and private sectors combined:

92% of hospitalisations were classified as episodes of Acute care
3.3% were classified as episodes of as Rehabilitation care
3.0% were classified as episodes of as Mental health care
0.5% were classified as episodes of as Newborn care (this only refers to situations where the newborn requires specific care – not all births.).

The proportions of hospitalisations for each care type varied by hospital sector. Public hospitals accounted for 60% of hospitalisations for Acute care, while private hospitals accounted for 81% of hospitalisations for Rehabilitation care.

Changes over time

Over the last five years, from 2017–18 to 2021–22, there has been an annual average increase for hospitalisations with Acute care by 0.7% in public hospitals and 1.8% in private hospitals.

Acute care

In 2021–22:

around 9 in 10 hospitalisations in public (94%) and private hospitals (88%) were for Acute care
the most common principal diagnosis reported for overnight acute hospitalisations was Single spontaneous delivery (3.1% of hospitalisations)
almost 1 in 4 (24%) of same-day acute hospitalisations had a principal diagnosis of Care involving dialysis.

Changes over time

Compared with 2020–21, in 2021–22, the number of hospitalisations with Acute care decreased by 2.1% for public hospitals and by 1.5% for private hospitals.
Over the last five years, from 2017–18 to 2021–22, there has been an annual average increase for hospitalisations with Acute care by 0.7% in public hospitals and 1.8% in private hospitals.

Newborn care

Newborns receiving care may have both ‘qualified’ (where the baby requires specialised care) and ‘unqualified’ days (where routine care is provided as part of the care for the mother). Refer to ‘More information about the data’ section below for definitions on qualified and unqualified care.

In 2021–22:

there were 81,800 hospitalisations for newborn care with at least one qualified day—the majority of these (85%) occurred in public hospitals
1 in 4 hospitalisations for newborn care had a principal diagnosis of Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (24% of hospitalisations for qualified newborns) followed by Respiratory distress of newborn (13% of hospitalisations for qualified newborns)
almost all (95%) hospitalisations for newborn care were Discharged home and less than 0.24% Died.

Changes over time

Compared with 2020–21, in 2021–22:

hospitalisations for qualified newborns decreased by 0.7% in public hospitals and increased in private hospitals by 6.7%
for unqualified newborns, hospitalisations decreased by 1.3% in public hospitals and increased by 5.9% in private hospitals.

Compared with 2017–18, in 2021–22:

hospitalisations for qualified newborns increased by an annual average of 2.7% (from 62,400 to 69,400) in public hospitals and increased in private hospitals by 1.7% (11,600 to 12,400)
for unqualified newborns, hospitalisations decreased by an annual average of 0.5% in public hospitals and increased by 3.8% in private hospitals. Victoria had the largest annual average increase over this period at 39.1% in private hospitals (from 2,000 hospitalisations to 7,600 hospitalisations).

Subacute and non-acute care

In 2021–22:

less than 1 in 20 hospitalisations (4.7%) were for Subacute and non-acute care
over the previous year, from 2020–21 to 2021–22, the number of hospitalisations for Subacute and non-acute care increased by 7.7% in public hospitals and decreased by 10% in private hospitals
over the last five years, from 2017–18 to 2021–22, there has been an annual average increase of 1.6% for Subacute and non-acute care hospitalisations in public hospitals and an annual average decrease of 5.1% in private hospitals.

Rehabilitation care

In 2021–22:

there were around 382,000 Rehabilitation care hospitalisations, with 4 in 5 (81%) occurring in private hospitals
New South Wales and Queensland combined accounted for 4 in 5 (79%) Rehabilitation care hospitalisations – 56% in New South Wales and 23% in Queensland.

Changes over time

Over the previous year, from 2020–21 to 2021–22, the number of Rehabilitation care hospitalisations decreased by 10.1% in public hospitals and 11.4% in private hospitals.
Over the last five years, from 2017–18 to 2021–22, there has been an annual average decrease of 6.0% for Rehabilitation care hospitalisations in public hospitals and an annual average decrease of 4.6% in private hospitals.

Palliative care

In 2021–22:

nearly 9 in 10 (86%) of the 51,300 Palliative care hospitalisations occurred in public hospitals
1 in 2 (49%) hospitalisations for Palliative care had a neoplasm-related (cancer-related) principal diagnosis, with Malignant neoplasm of bronchus and lung accounting for 8% of Palliative care hospitalisations.

Mental health care

In 2021–22:

over 3 in 5 (62%) of the 353,000 Mental health care hospitalisations occurred in private hospitals
females (as identified in the data) accounted for 60% of all Mental health care hospitalisations.

Changes over time

Over the previous year, from 2020–21 to 2021–22, the number of Mental health care hospitalisations in private hospitals decreased by 6.0% (from 232,000 to 218,000). However, over the last five years, from 2017–18 to 2021–22, there has been an annual average increase of 2.9%.

More information about the data Expand

What other information is available?

More information on these data are available in the Admitted patient care 2021–22: What services were provided? data tables.

Definitions of the terms used in this section are available in the Glossary.

Acute care

An episode of Acute care for an admitted patient is one in which the principal clinical intent is to do one or more of the following:

manage labour (obstetric)
cure illness or provide definitive treatment of injury
perform surgery
relieve symptoms of illness or injury (excluding palliative care)
reduce severity of illness or injury
protect against exacerbation and/or complication of an illness and/or injury which could threaten life or normal functions
perform diagnostic or therapeutic procedures

Rehabilitation care

Rehabilitation care is care in which the primary clinical purpose or treatment goal is improvement in the functioning of a patient with an impairment, activity limitation, or participation restriction due to a health condition.

Rehabilitation care is always:

delivered under the management of or informed by a clinician with specialised expertise in rehabilitation
evidenced by an individualised multidisciplinary management plan, which is documented in the patient’s medical record, which includes negotiated goals within specified time frames and formal assessment of functional ability.

Palliative care

Palliative care is defined as care in which the primary clinical purpose or treatment goal is optimisation of the quality of life of a patient with an active and advanced life-limiting illness. The patient will have complex physical, psychosocial and/or spiritual needs.

Palliative care is always:

delivered under the management of or informed by a clinician with specialised expertise in palliative care
evidenced by an individualised multidisciplinary assessment and management plan, which is documented in the patient's medical record that covers the physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the patient and negotiated goals.

Mental health care

Mental health care is defined in this publication as care in which the primary clinical purpose or treatment goal is improvement in the symptoms and/or psychosocial, environmental, and physical functioning related to a patient’s mental disorder.

Mental health care:

is delivered under the management of, or regularly informed by, a clinician with specialised expertise in mental health
is evidenced by an individualised formal mental health assessment and the implementation of a documented mental health plan
may include significant psychosocial components, including family and carer support.

Mental health care differs from mental health-related care reported in AIHW Mental health services reports. A hospitalisation is classified as mental health-related if:

it had a mental health-related principal diagnosis, which, for admitted patient care in this report, is defined as a principal diagnosis that is either:
a diagnosis that falls within the section on Mental and behavioural disorders (Chapter 5) in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, Australian Modification (ICD‑10‑AM) (codes F00–F99), or
a number of other selected diagnoses (see the technical information for a full list of applicable diagnoses), and/or
it included any specialised psychiatric care.

For 2021–22, mental health care refers to hospitalisations for which the care type was reported as Mental health. The care type Mental health was introduced from 1 July 2015. Prior to this, mental health admitted patient activity was assigned to one of the other care types.

‘Qualified’ newborn

A day is considered ‘qualified’ for health insurance benefits purposes when a newborn meet at least 1 of the following criteria:

the newborn is the second or subsequent live born infant of a multiple birth, whose mother is currently an admitted patient
the newborn is admitted to an intensive care facility in a hospital, being a facility approved by the Commonwealth Minister for the purpose of the provision of special care
the newborn is admitted to or remains in hospital without its mother.

A newborn admission to hospital can occur at any time within the first 9 days of life, including at the time of birth.

‘Unqualified’ newborn

The reporting of unqualified newborns has changed over time and varies across jurisdictions. Prior to 2017–18, newborn episodes involving unqualified care were routinely excluded from national reporting on the basis that they did not meet admission criteria for all purposes. However, due to changes in Newborn care practices (such as, care being provided to unqualified newborns on the ward rather than in a special care nursery) stakeholders have expressed interest in the reporting of all newborn episodes, regardless of qualification status.

Admitted patient safety and quality

Last updated 15/03/2023 v24.0

What is SABSI?

Staphylococcus aureus (also known as golden staph or S. aureus) is a usually harmless bacteria commonly found inside the nose and on the skin. However, if the bacteria enters the bloodstream a Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SABSI) can occur.

Contracting SABSI can be life-threatening and hospitals aim to minimise cases by implementing infection prevention and control policies, including good hygiene practices. Surveillance and reporting of healthcare-associated SABSI rates in hospitals helps to improve patient safety.

Types of SABSI

The two types of SABSI reported on are:

methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) – which can be treated with commonly used antibiotics, and
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which resists treatment by many types of antibiotics, and is associated with poorer patient outcomes.

Data on healthcare associated infections associated with hospital care are presented in the following data visualisation and summarised in the sections below. The data presented are for the latest year for which national data are available, and over time.

SABSI in public hospitals Expand

Nationally, in 2020–21:

there were 1,535 cases of SABSI in public hospitals during 20.7 million patient days of care – an average of 29 cases per week. This is equivalent to a rate of 0.74 cases per 10,000 public hospital patient days.
17% of SABSI cases were resistant to antimicrobial treatment (MRSA) and 83% were MSSA cases.

Of the 680 (98%) public hospitals in Australia that contributed data, 190 (27%) hospitals reported at least one SABSI case.

Rates varied by the type of hospital (peer group) – from 0.36 per 10,000 patient days in Small hospitals to 0.98 in Major hospitals which, along with Children's hospitals (0.95), are more likely to deliver services with a higher risk of SABSI.

All states and territories met the national benchmark

All states and territories achieved rates below the current nationally-agreed performance benchmark of 1.0 case per 10,000 patient days, with rates ranging from 0.66 in the Northern Territory to 0.97 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Trends over time

Overall, SABSI rates have decreased at the national level from 1.09 cases per 10,000 patient days in 2010–11 to 0.74 in 2020–21. Rates by state/territory fluctuate from year to year.

On 1 July 2020, the agreed national benchmark changed from no more than 2.0 cases of healthcare-associated SABSI per 10,000 days of patient care to no more than 1.0 case.

Since 2010–11, rates of healthcare-associated MRSA have also declined – from 0.3 cases per 10,000 patient days to 0.1 cases. These cases accounted for 27% of all SABSI cases in 2010–11 compared with 17% of all cases in 2020–21.

SABSI in participating private hospitals Expand

SABSI in your hospital Expand

Data downloads Expand

More information about the data Expand

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many areas of people’s lives, including their use of health services such as hospitals. It also highlighted the importance of good hand hygiene to prevent the spread of disease. In response to COVID-19, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care promoted greater emphasis on using audit data to inform local quality improvement activities, and made Audit 2 (1 April to 30 June), 2020 voluntary for data submission. Audit 1 (1 November to 31 March) and Audit 3 (1 July to 31 October) remained mandatory for 2020.

Why is hand hygiene important?

In hospitals, patients are at greater risk of getting an infection because they may be undergoing invasive procedures, have weakened immune systems or may have a pre-existing infection. In addition to reducing the likelihood of transmitting viruses such as COVID-19 or influenza, good hand hygiene is a key first line defence to prevent or reduce hospital-acquired infections, including Staphylococcus aureus (‘golden staph’) bloodstream infections (SAB).

How is hand hygiene measured in hospitals?

Hand hygiene in hospitals generally refers to the washing of hands or use of alcohol-based rubs by healthcare workers. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the following posters on performing hand hygiene:

Hand hygiene rates are calculated by dividing the number of correct observed hand hygiene moments by the number of observed moments by auditors in a specified audit period. In a hospital, good hand hygiene is important and there are particular occasions when the risk of transmitting disease is increased. These are:

before touching a patient
before a procedure
after a procedure or body fluid exposure risk
after touching a patient
after touching a patient’s surroundings.

These are known as hand hygiene opportunities or ‘moments’. Moments are defined in the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on Hand Hygiene. In Australia, these moments have been modified slightly to reflect our healthcare conditions. See the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare’s website for more information on hand hygiene moments.

To measure how often healthcare workers in hospitals perform hand hygiene at these important moments, audits are continuously undertaken and reported three times a year.

The National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) aims to educate and promote correct hand hygiene practice in all Australian hospitals, and includes auditing and reporting processes for hospitals to measure how they are performing against the benchmark determined by the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council. This benchmark has been progressively increasing and is now set at 80%. The performance of all participating hospitals has also been increasing across the country.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) coordinates the NHHI and has a range of resources available to support the continuing implementation of improved hand hygiene and the NHHI. The AIHW reports on hand hygiene rates for individual hospitals on the MyHospitals website. This can be explored below.

Explore the data

In the data visualisation below you can explore information on hand hygiene rates by hospital between 2010–2020.

Factors to consider when interpreting these data

Since they are based on a sample of moments, hand hygiene rates should be interpreted alongside their confidence interval. For more information on confidence intervals see the More information about the data section at the bottom of this page.
There are a number of factors contributing to hospital hand hygiene compliance rates. These factors include the type of clinical care provided; product placement and availability; and staff awareness of and compliance with infection prevention and control strategies.
While hand hygiene was actively supported during COVID-19, submission of data to Audit period 2 2020 was not mandatory for organisations, in order to reduce administrative burden. Comparisons with this audit period should be made with caution.
When comparing hospitals over time, it is important to consider the results in the context of the national benchmark at that time:
- data from before 2016 should be compared to the benchmark of 70%
- data from 2016 should be compared to the benchmark of 75%
- data from 2017 onwards should be compared to the benchmark of 80%.

More information about the data Expand

National Hand Hygiene Initiative

The National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) has been in operation for ten years, supported by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, and since 1 November 2019, the Commission has coordinated and supported all aspects of the NHHI. Hand hygiene is a key element of a comprehensive suite of initiatives to prevent and reduce healthcare-associated infections in Australian healthcare settings.

The NHHI is implemented by states, territories and private health service organisations, and includes auditing of hand hygiene practice as well as educational and promotional activities.

Hand hygiene data are provided by state and territory health authorities for public hospitals and by individual private hospitals. The data are derived from audits of hand hygiene moments that are conducted continuously over three reporting periods each year. These audit periods are:

Audit period 1: 1 November to 31 March
Audit period 2: 1 April to 30 June
Audit period 3: 1 July to 31 October.

Hospitals provide information on hand hygiene by providing the total number of moments observed and the total numbers of correct moments observed. The rate is then generated from these validated data.

Further information on the data collection process is described in the NHHI Manual.

Calculation of hand hygiene rates

Hand hygiene (HH) is a general term applying to the use of soap/solution (non-antimicrobial or antimicrobial) and water, or a waterless antimicrobial agent (e.g. alcohol-based handrub) to the surface of the hands (HHA, 2019).

Hand hygiene compliance is defined when HH is performed when considered necessary and is classified according to one of the “5 Moments”. If the action is performed outside of these Moments, then it is not included in the compliance audit.

The number of Moments observed constitutes the denominator for assessing HH compliance. The actual HH actions undertaken are compared to the number of Moments observed to calculate the rate of HH compliance (HHA, 2019). The rate is rounded to one decimal place.

HH non-compliance is defined when there is an indication for HH (i.e. a “Moment”) and yet no HH was undertaken.

Hand hygiene rate estimates and confidence intervals

Hand hygiene compliance rates are based on audits from a sample of hand hygiene moments, and 95% confidence intervals are provided for all breakdowns.

A ‘confidence interval’ is a statistical term describing the range (‘interval’) within which we can be sure (‘confident’) the true rate falls. Confidence intervals indicate the reliability of the estimated rate and are calculated using data provided by hospitals.

When only a small number of moments are audited (for example, those associated with particular healthcare worker types), the confidence interval will be wider, indicating there is less certainty regarding the true compliance rate. When a large number of moments are audited, the confidence interval will be narrower, indicating there is more certainty regarding the true rate.

Confidence intervals are used to assess whether or not the compliance rate for the sample of moments meets the benchmark. If the confidence interval includes the value of the benchmark 80%, then that figure is considered to have met the benchmark.

National benchmark

In 2015, the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council agreed to:

An increase for the national hand hygiene benchmark to 75% in 2016, followed by an increase to 80% in 2017
Reporting against a benchmark for 75% in 2016, and 80% in 2017, for all professional groups
Reporting against a benchmark for 75% in 2016, and 80% in 2017, for each of the five moments.

References

Hand Hygiene Australia 2019. Glossary of Terms. Melbourne: HHA

Admitted patient access

A specialised service unit is a facility or unit dedicated to the treatment or care of patients with particular conditions or characteristics, such as an intensive care unit.

In 2020–21, the most common specialised service units offered by public hospitals were:

Domiciliary care units (provided by 333 public hospitals)
Nursing home care units (provided by 281 public hospitals)
Obstetric/maternity services units (provided by 216 public hospitals).

There were 84 Intensive care units (level III and above) and 31 Neonatal intensive care units (level III and above).

Explore the data

The data visualisation below provides a list of selected specialised services and clinics by hospital, including specialised care units, in 2020–21.

The information about services provided by a particular hospital is intended as a general guide only. There is the potential for some omissions or errors in this information and readers should contact a hospital directly for the latest advice on the services available.

A list of the types of specialised units is available in the ‘More information about the data’ section below.

More information about the data Expand

More information about these data can be found in Hospital resources 2020–21 data tables.

Definitions of the terms used in this section are available in the Glossary.

Specialised service units

Types of specialised service unit include:

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) unit - A specialised facility dedicated to the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients.
Acute renal dialysis unit - A specialised facility dedicated to dialysis of renal failure patients requiring acute care.
Acute spinal cord injury unit - A specialised facility dedicated to the initial treatment and subsequent ongoing management and rehabilitation of patients with acute spinal cord injury, largely conforming to Australian Health Minister’s Advisory Council guidelines for service provision.
Alcohol and drug unit - A facility/service dedicated to the treatment of alcohol and drug dependence.
Bone marrow transplantation unit - A specialised facility for bone marrow transplantation.
Burns unit (level III) - A specialised facility dedicated to the initial treatment and subsequent rehabilitation of the severely injured burns patient (usually >10 per cent of the patient’s body surface affected).
Cardiac surgery unit - A specialised facility dedicated to operative and peri-operative care of patients with cardiac disease.
Clinical genetics unit - A specialised facility dedicated to diagnostic and counselling services for clients who are affected by, at risk of, or anxious about genetic disorders.
Comprehensive epilepsy centre - A specialised facility dedicated to seizure characterisation, evaluation of therapeutic regimes, pre-surgical evaluation and epilepsy surgery for patients with refractory epilepsy.
Coronary care unit - A specialised facility dedicated to acute care services for patients with cardiac diseases.
Diabetes unit - A specialised facility dedicated to the treatment of diabetics.
Domiciliary care service - A facility/service dedicated to the provision of nursing or other professional paramedical care or treatment and non-qualified domestic assistance to patients in their own homes or in residential institutions not part of the establishment.
Geriatric assessment unit - Facilities dedicated to the Commonwealth-approved assessment of the level of dependency of (usually) aged individuals either for purposes of initial admission to a long-stay institution or for purposes of reassessment of dependency levels of existing long-stay institution residents.
Heart, lung transplantation unit - A specialised facility for heart including heart lung transplantation.
Hospice care unit - A facility dedicated to the provision of palliative care to terminally ill patients.
In-vitro fertilisation unit - A specialised facility dedicated to the investigation of infertility provision of in-vitro fertilisation services.
Infectious diseases unit - A specialised facility dedicated to the treatment of infectious diseases.
Intensive care unit (level III) - A specialised facility dedicated to the care of paediatric and adult patients requiring intensive care and sophisticated technological support services.
Liver transplantation unit - A specialised facility for liver transplantation.
Maintenance renal dialysis centre - A specialised facility dedicated to maintenance dialysis of renal failure patients. It may be a separate facility (possibly located on hospital grounds) or known as a satellite centre or a hospital-based facility but is not a facility solely providing training services.
Major plastic/reconstructive surgery unit - A specialised facility dedicated to general purpose plastic and specialised reconstructive surgery, including maxillofacial, microsurgery and hand surgery.
Neonatal intensive care unit (level III) - A specialised facility dedicated to the care of neonates requiring care and sophisticated technological support. Patients usually require intensive cardiorespiratory monitoring, sustained assistance ventilation, long-term oxygen administration and parenteral nutrition.
Neurosurgical unit - A specialised facility dedicated to the surgical treatment of neurological conditions.
Nursing home care unit - A facility dedicated to the provision of nursing home care.
Obstetric/maternity - A specialised facility dedicated to the care of obstetric/maternity patients.
Oncology unit, cancer treatment - A specialised facility dedicated to multidisciplinary investigation, management, rehabilitation and support services for cancer patients. Treatment services include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
Pancreas transplantation unit - A specialised facility for pancreas transplantation.
Psychiatric unit/ward - A specialised unit/ward dedicated to the treatment and care of admitted patients with psychiatric, mental, or behavioural disorders.
Rehabilitation unit - Dedicated units within recognised hospitals which provide post-acute rehabilitation and are designed as such by the State health authorities.
Renal transplantation unit - A specialised facility for renal transplantation.
Sleep centre - A specialised facility linked to a sleep laboratory dedicated to the investigation and management of sleep disorders.
Specialist paediatric - A specialised facility dedicated to the care of children aged 14 or less is provided within an establishment.

Admitted patient activity

Explore the data

Highlights

Acute care

Newborn care

Subacute and non-acute care

Rehabilitation care

Palliative care

Mental health care

What other information is available?

Acute care

Rehabilitation care

Palliative care

Mental health care

‘Qualified’ newborn

‘Unqualified’ newborn

Admitted patient safety and quality

What is SABSI?

Types of SABSI

All states and territories met the national benchmark

Trends over time

Previous releases

Why is hand hygiene important?

How is hand hygiene measured in hospitals?

Explore the data

Factors to consider when interpreting these data

National Hand Hygiene Initiative

Calculation of hand hygiene rates

Hand hygiene rate estimates and confidence intervals

National benchmark

References

Admitted patient access

Explore the data

Specialised service units

AIHW

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Glenside Health Services

Admitted patient activity

What types of care are provided to admitted patients? Click to expand or collapse

Admitted patient safety and quality

Healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections Click to expand or collapse

Hand hygiene Click to expand or collapse

Admitted patient access

What specialised services and clinics do hospitals provide? Click to expand or collapse