The latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) quarterly report has been released for the April to June 2024 period, and once again, it doesn't make for happy reading for Lismore Base Hospital.

While the elective surgery activity produced some positive statistics, the emergency department at Lismore Base Hospital (LBH) continued to show some more worrying signs.

Northern NSW Local Health District Chief Executive Tracey Maisey said local hospitals experienced increased activity across most markers, from ambulance arrivals to emergency presentations and episodes of care, while planned surgery performance also improved during the second quarter of the year.

Of the 3,809 planned procedures performed during the quarter, the majority (81 per cent) were performed on time – an improvement of 4.6 percentage points compared with the same quarter in 2023 (76.4 per cent).

At the end of the quarter, there were 145 patients waiting longer than clinically recommended for a planned surgery, a reduction of 81.7%, or 648 patients fewer, compared with the end of June 2023, and the lowest since December 2019. This was below the state average of 87.1%. Lismore increased 2.4% to 68.3%.

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.

“We had 56,496 emergency attendances in the quarter, an increase of 3.4 per cent or 1,867 more when compared with the same quarter last year,” Ms Maisey said.

“We also saw 9,576 arrivals by ambulance, an increase of 577 or 6.4% compared to the same quarter in 2023, and an increase of 4.9 per cent in total episodes of care.”

LBH also had an increase in emergency attendance by 1.7% or 169 patients to 10,103. For arrivals by ambulance, LBH saw an increase of 5.5% to 2,926, greater than the new Tweed Hospital, 2,776, an increase of 11.4%.

From April to June 2024, more than seven in 10 patients (70.1 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the NSW average (63.7 per cent). It was not so good for LBH, recording 52%, down from 56.1% for the same period in 2023.

Seventy-five per cent of patients were transferred from ambulance paramedic to ED clinician within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is above the NSW average (73.7 per cent). LBH was 58.8%, a decrease of 11.5% (down from 70.3%).

The majority of patients(70.4 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving – which is significantly better than the NSW average(54.7 per cent). LBH, though, was well below the state average and under 50% at 46.4% (a decrease of 6.8%); Grafton was next at 67.8%.

Tracey Maisey said, “Our staff do an amazing job of caring for our patients with compassion and kindness, and I want to acknowledge and thank them for their hard work during the quarter.”

The Lismore App has published patient reports that support Ms Maisey's comments. LBH nurses and doctors score very highly for the care they give patients.

The NSW Government announced it was recruiting 29 new full-time nurses to improve staffing levels, starting in the highest levels of emergency departments that treat the most critically ill patients.

It would appear they cannot come quickly enough, as LBH statistics keep heading in the wrong direction. There are obviously serious issues at LBH; however, no one wants to answer any questions about how these issues as being fixed and when a turnaround in these key performance indicator areas will occur.

Is it the number of nurses? Is it the poor retention of nurses due to Queensland nurses being paid 15% more? Is it the lack of affordable housing for nurses in Lismore and the Northern Rivers? Is it a combination of everything?

The Lismore App has an interview with Chief Executive Tracey Maisey on Monday to, hopefully, get some answers.

As part of a statement released by NNSWLHD, they said;

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.

NNSWLHD continues to remind the community to keep emergency departments and ambulances for saving lives and consider alternative options for minor conditions such as medical centres or GPs or calling the 24-hour telephone health advice HealthDirect on 1800 022 222.

INDIVIDUAL HOSPITAL RESULTS

BALLINA DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,808 ED attendances during the quarter,an increase of 8.3 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2023. The majority of patients (63.2 per cent) started their ED treatment on time. More than seven in 10 patients (71.4 per cent) left the ED within four hours. More than eight in 10 patients (81 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

BYRON CENTRAL HOSPITAL had 5,463 ED attendances for the quarter,up 3.1 per cent on the same quarter in 2023. The vast majority of patients (85.1 per cent) started their ED treatment on time, significantly higher than the average for hospitals the same size (77.3%). Eight in 10 patients (82.7 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving a 2.3 percentage points improvement compared to the same time last year. More than nine in 10 patients (93 per cent)were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, this result was in line with hospitals of a similar size.

CASINO & DISTRICT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL had 3,532 ED attendances in the quarter. The majority of patients (66.3 per cent) started treatment on time and more than eight in 10 patients (83.1 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, this result is higher than hospitals of a similar size (76.7 per cent).More than nine in 10 patients (94.8per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

GRAFTON BASE HOSPITAL had 7,197 ED attendances during this quarter,a 3.7 per cent increase on the same quarter in 2023. The majority of patients started treatment on time (56.6 per cent), and left the ED within four hours of arriving (67.8 per cent), this result is higher than hospitals of a similar size (60.5 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (84.1 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

LISMORE BASE HOSPITAL had 10,103 ED attendances during the quarter and 2,926 ambulance arrivals, an increase of 5.5 per cent on the same quarter in 2023. Fifty two per cent of patients started their treatment on time, and 46.4 per cent of patients left the ED within four hours of arriving. The majority of patients (58.8 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 9.1 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2023. More than eight in 10 patients (81.2 per cent) started their treatment on time, this result is higher than the average for hospitals of a similar size (77.3 per cent). More than eight in 10 (85.3 per cent) of patients left the ED within four hours. Almost all patients (92.1per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

MURWILLUMBAH DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 5,042 ED attendances during the quarter, an increase of 6.2 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2023. The vast majority of patients (85 per cent) started their treatment on time. More than eight in 10 patients (86.6 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, an improvement of 2.9 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023 and significantly higher than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (60.5 per cent). Almost all patients (97.4 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark an improvement of 2.2 percentage points and.

THE TWEED HOSPITAL/TWEED VALLEY HOSPITAL had 13,920 ED attendances during the quarter, and 2,776 ambulance arrivals, an increase of 11.4 per cent (or 283 arrivals) on the same quarterin 2023. More than seven in 10 patients (74.7per cent) started their treatment on time. Almost seven in 10 patients (68.1 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving higher than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (49.2 per cent). More than seven in 10 patients (75.9 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark an improvement of 4.4 percentage points when compared with the same quarter in 2023.