Emergency department activity in 2019–20
Nationally, between 2014–15 and 2018–19 the number of presentations to public hospital EDs increased by 3.2% on average each year.
In 2019–20, the number of ED presentations decreased by 1.4% compared to 2018–19 which was likely influenced by COVID-19 restrictions and the changes affecting health care provision since February 2020.
In 2019–20:
- Principal diagnoses of Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes accounted for 23% of presentations (1.9 million). These include fractures, burns, toxic effects of medicinal and non-medicinal substances, and other complications.
- 53% of patients were assigned to the three most urgent triage categories (Resuscitation, Emergency and Urgent), ranging from 38% for patients aged 5 to 14 to 71% for patients aged 95 and over.
- Most ED patients left the ED after being treated (61%) and almost one-third of patients (31%) were admitted to hospital for further care.
Children and older adults are more likely to receive ED care
- Patients aged 4 years and under (who make up less than 7% of the population) accounted for 10% of presentations.
- Patients aged 65 and over (who make up about 16% of the population) accounted for 22% of presentations.
Around three-quarters of patients receive care on time
In 2019–20, 74% of patients were ‘seen on time’, including almost all of those requiring immediate care and 75% of those requiring care within 10 minutes. The overall proportion seen on time has increased since 2015–16 (73%).
Of all ED presentations in 2019–20:
- 50% of patients were seen within 17 minutes, faster than waiting times for the previous four years (19 minutes)
- 90% of patients were seen within 1 hour and 32 minutes. This measure was fairly consistent over the previous four years, varying from 1 hour and 34 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Fewer ED visits are completed in 4 hours
- Overall, 69% of ED visits were completed within 4 hours in 2019–20, down from 73% in 2015–16.
- 90% of ED visits were completed within 7 hours and 30 minutes in 2019–20, consistent with the 7 hours and 29 minutes in 2018–19.
Where do I find more information?
The latest data on ED care is available for download below.
More information about the impact of COVID-19 on emergency department activity are available in the Emergency department care activity area of the MyHospitals site.