The latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report (July – September 2024) once again paints a bleak picture for Lismore Base Hospital.

It was also the first report to capture a full quarter of data from the new Tweed Valley Hospital, which commenced operations on May 14, 2024.

The brighter news begins with planned procedures for the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD). From July to September 2024, 3,572 planned procedures were completed, with the vast majority (85.4 per cent) performed on time. This is an improvement of 8.2 percentage points compared with the same period in 2023 (77.2 per cent).

At the end of the quarter, there were 232 patients waiting longer than clinically recommended for their planned surgery, a reduction of 67 per cent, or 477 patients fewer, compared with the end of September 2023.

Median waiting times decreased for both the semi-urgent and non-urgent categories and remained stable for the urgent category.

Any patient who feels their condition may have deteriorated while waiting for their surgery is encouraged to contact their treating doctor who can review their condition and place them in a higher urgency category, if appropriate.

The inherent problem for Lismore Base Hospital lies in the emergency department.

NNSWLHD Director Clinical Operations Lynne Weir said hospitals continued to see increasing numbers of patients presenting to emergency departments and arriving by ambulance, trends which are being reflected across NSW.

“We had 56,041 emergency attendances in the quarter, an increase of 3.4 per cent, or 1,840 additional attendances when compared with the same quarter last year, and the highest July-September quarter ever recorded.

Lismore Base Hospital bucked this trend with a 0.1% decrease in ED attendance to 10,046.

“We also saw 9,775 arrivals by ambulance, an increase of 585 arrivals, or 6.4 per cent, compared with the same quarter in 2023, and the highest ever on record.

Lismore Base was up 8% to 3,022.

“It’s incredibly busy in our EDs, and I’d like to thank all our staff for their continued efforts in caring for our communities at their most vulnerable.”

From July to September 2024, almost seven in 10 patients (69.5 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the NSW average (61.3 per cent).

Lismore Base was ten percent lower than the state average with 51.3%, which was a 12.2% decrease for the same period in 2023.

More than eight in 10 patients (80.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance paramedics to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is better than the NSW average (77.5 per cent).

Lismore Base also performed above the state average, with 66.6%, down 2.2%.

The majority of patients (71.0 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving – which is also significantly better than the NSW average (54.7 per cent).

Lismore Base performed well below the NNSWLHD average, with 50.6% of patients leaving the ED within four hours. This was down 4.6%.

All patients are seen and triaged on arrival at the ED and the most seriously unwell patients are treated first. During busy times, those with less urgent conditions can experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care.

“As a district, we are focussed on supporting patients to access timely care in a range of settings, depending on what’s most appropriate for their condition,” Ms Weir said.

“In many cases, that may be through our emergency departments, but we are also implementing alternative avenues such as combining our Hospital in the Home and community nursing services across the District to improve the capacity in the community for out-of-hospital services.”

For non-life threatening illness or injury such as a cough, nausea, sprain or minor cut, residents canphone HealthDirect on 1800 022 222 for free, expert health advice 24 hours a day.

A registered nurse will answer your call, ask some questions and connect you to the right care, which could include connecting with a health expert by phone or video call, booking an appointment at an urgent care clinic or other local healthcare service, and also calling an ambulance or directing to the emergency department if the situation is life-threatening.

The numbers, once again, prove that Lismore Base Hospital is in dire need of government intervention.

In our September interview with CEO Tracey Maisey, she pointed to a lack of beds and a lack of aged care facilities from an increasing elderly population that stay in hospital longer as the main problems that Lismore Base Hospital underperforms in key categories.

INDIVIDUAL HOSPITAL RESULTS

BALLINA DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,635 ED attendances during the quarter, an increase of 6.7 per cent (290 attendances) compared with the same quarter in 2023. More than six in 10 patients (62.1 per cent) started their ED treatment on time. More than seven in 10 patients (74.0 per cent) left the ED within four hours. More than eight in 10 patients (87.1 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, an increase of 3.7 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2023.

BYRON CENTRAL HOSPITAL had 5,354 ED attendances for the quarter, up 1.8 per cent (95 attendances) on the same quarter in 2023. The vast majority of patients (85.0 per cent) started their ED treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.3 percent). Eight in 10 patients (81.5 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving. More than nine in 10 patients (93.4 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is in line with the average for hospitals of a similar size (93.3 per cent).

CASINO & DISTRICT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL had 3,456 ED attendances in the quarter, an increase of 7.4 per cent (237 attendances) on the same quarter in 2023. More than five in 10 patients (59.8 percent) started treatment on time and more than eight in 10 patients (84.0

per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving. More than nine in 10 patients (93.5 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

GRAFTON BASE HOSPITAL had 7,023 ED attendances during this quarter, a 4.4 per cent increase (293 attendances) on the same quarter in 2023. More than five in 10 started treatment on time (56.3 per cent). Almost seven in 10 patients (69.6 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (59.0 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (87.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark an increase of 4.7 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2023.

LISMORE BASE HOSPITAL had 10,046 ED attendances during the quarter. The District also saw 3,022 ambulance arrivals, an increase of 8 per cent (225 arrivals) on the same quarter in 2023. More than five in 10 patients (51.3 per cent) started their treatment on time, and 50.6 per cent of patients left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is slightly above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (48.7 per cent). More than six in 10 patients (66.6 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

MACLEAN DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,073 ED attendances during the quarter, up 7.5 per cent (283 attendances) compared with the same quarter in 2023. More than seven in 10 patients (75.5 percent) started their treatment on time. More than eight in 10 patients (86.2 per cent) left the ED within four hours. Almost all patients (93.9 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

MURWILLUMBAH DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 5,089 ED attendances during the quarter, an increase of 5.7 per cent (275 attendances) compared with the same quarter in 2023. The vast majority of patients (80.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (65.4 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (85.1 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (59.0 per cent). Almost nine in 10 patients (89.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

TWEED VALLEY HOSPITAL had 14,138 ED attendances during the quarter. There were 2,944 ambulance arrivals, an increase of 10.8 per cent (or 288 arrivals) compared with the same quarter in 2023 (at The Tweed Hospital). More than seven in 10 patients (79.1 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (53.7 percent). More than six in 10 patients (66.1 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (48.7 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (84.3 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (75.0 per cent).