Use of emergency departments for lower urgency care 2017–18 to 2022–23

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Patient Experiences Survey provides some insight into reasons why people visit Emergency Departments (EDs). The survey found that of respondents aged 15 and over, who visited an ED for any reason in the past 12 months, about 16% thought their care could have been provided by a general practitioner (GP) for their most recent visit to the ED in 2022–23. This proportion was similar to 2017–18 (18%) (Figure 5) (ABS 2023).

In 2022–23, of people aged 15 years and over who visited an ED (3.2 million):

• nearly 1 in 2 (47%) reported that the main reason they went to an ED instead of a GP was because they were taken by ambulance, or the condition was serious
• 1 in 5 (22%) reported that the main reason was because a GP was not available when required or that the waiting time for a GP appointment was too long  
• 1 in 6 (16%) reported that their GP did not have the required equipment or facilities
• 1 in 10 (8.6%) reported that they were sent to the ED by their GP
• less than 1% reported that the main reason was because the cost was lower than a GP visit (ABS 2023).