Emergency department activity stabilising
In 2021–22, there were 8.79 million presentations to EDs in public hospitals – a rate of 339 presentations per 1,000 population. This was a very similar level of ED activity to that seen in 2020–21 (8.81 million ED presentations – 339 presentations per 1,000 population).
In prior years:
- between 2019–20 and 2020–21, despite some ongoing restrictions to health care and other activities due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 6.9% increase in the number of presentations, bringing the number more in line with the trend prior to the COVID-19 pandemic
- in the 5 years prior to the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019–20, the rate of presentations to ED per 1,000 population steadily increased from 310 in 2014–15 to 329 in 2018–19, an increase of 3.2% per year on average.
Age and sex
In 2021–22:
Patients waiting longer in EDs before being seen
Over time, the national trends has been for people to wait longer in the ED before being seen by a health professional. In 2021–22:
- 50% of patients were seen within 20 minutes, which was 2 minutes longer than the median waiting time for 2020–21 (18 minutes) and also longer than in the 3 years prior to that
- 90% of patients were seen within 1 hour and 57 minutes. This was markedly higher than the previous 4 years which varied from 1 hour, 32 minutes in 2019–20 to 1 hour, 42 minutes in 2020–21.
Patients staying longer in ED and fewer ED visits are completed in 4 hours
There has been an increase in the overall amount of time that patients tend to spend in EDs. In 2021–22:
- 61% of ED visits were completed within 4 hours, down from 67% in 2020–21 and 71% in 2017–18
- 90% of ED visits were completed within 9 hours and 10 minutes in 2020–21 which is an increase of almost 2 hours since 2017–18 when 90% of visits were completed within 7 hours and 14 minutes
- the time in which 90% of ED visits for patients subsequently admitted to the hospital, has increased by almost 4.5 hours in recent years (from 11 hours, 8 minutes in 2017–18 to 15 hours, 37 minutes in 2021–22).
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.
References
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2022) National, state and territory population, ABS website, accessed 13 October 2022.