Summary
Emergency departments are a critical component of Australia’s health care system. Many of Australia’s public hospitals have purpose-built emergency departments, staffed 24 hours a day, providing care for patients who require urgent medical attention.
In 2016–17:
- there were about 7.8 million presentations to Australian public hospital emergency departments, an average of more than 21,000 per day
- patients aged 4 and under (who make up less than 7% of the population) accounted for about 11% of all emergency department presentations
- patients aged 65 and over (who make up about 15% of the population) accounted for more than 21% of emergency department presentations
- about one-quarter (or almost 2 million) of emergency department presentations had a principal diagnosis in the ICD-10-AM chapter Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
- the two most common individual principal diagnoses reported were Abdominal and pelvic pain (4.3%), and Pain in the throat and chest (3.6%)
- about 73% of all presentations were ‘seen on time’ (within the clinically recommended time for their triage category), with almost 100% of Resuscitation patients (needs care immediately), 77% of Emergency (needs care within 10 minutes) patients, and 92% of Non-urgent (needs care within 120 minutes) ‘seen on time’
- the proportion of presentations that were ‘seen on time’ ranged from 61% in the Northern Territory to 81% in New South Wales
- about 72% of emergency department presentations were completed in 4 hours or less, varying from 64% in South Australia and the Northern Territory to 75% in New South Wales
- about 31% of patients were admitted to hospital after their emergency department care; 49% were admitted in 4 hours or less, and 90% within 10 hours and 44 minutes.
Between 2012–13 and 2016–17:
- presentations to emergency departments increased by 3.7% on average each year. After adjusting for coverage changes, presentations increased by an estimated 2.6% on average each year
- the proportion of presentations that were ‘seen on time’ (within the clinically recommended time) was fairly stable across the period, ranging from 73% (in 2012–13 and 2016–17) to 75% (in 2013–14)
- the proportion of emergency department presentations completed in 4 hours or less rose from 67% in 2012–13 to 73% in 2015–16, and decreased to 72% in 2016–17.
Preliminary material: Acknowledgments Abbreviations; Symbols
1. Introduction
- What’s in this report?
- What data are reported?
- What terms and methods are used?
- Additional information
2. How much emergency department activity was there?
- Key findings
- How many public hospitals had emergency departments?
- How many emergency department presentations were there?
3. Who used emergency department services?
- Key findings
- How did emergency department use vary by age group and sex?
- How did emergency department use vary by Indigenous status?
- How did emergency department use vary by remoteness of area of usual residence?
4. How and why were services accessed?
- Key findings
- What types of visit occur in emergency departments?
- How urgently was care required and how did people arrive at the emergency department?
- When did people present to the emergency department?
- Why did people receive care?
- How was care completed?
5. How long did people wait for emergency department care?
- Key findings
- How have waiting times changed over time?
- How long did people wait for care in 2016–17?
- Performance indicator: waiting times for emergency department care—proportion seen on time
6. How long did people stay in the emergency department?
- Key findings
- How long did patients stay?
- How many visits were completed within 4 hours?
- How long did clinical care take?
Appendixes
Appendix A: Data quality information
Appendix B: Technical notes
Appendix C: Public hospital peer groups
End matter: Glossary; References; List of tables; List of figures; Related publications