Time it takes to get care focus of hospital trial

THE Ballarat Base Hospital is one of fourteen Victorian sites to take part in a project aimed at improving the time it takes for patients to access emergency care.

Known as the Timely Emergency Care Collaborative, or TECC, project, the trial’s goal is to improve access to quick emergency care within Grampians Health’s systems by adding strategies which help patient flow throughout the base Hospital.

Implementation of systems as part of the project are already underway, and a statement from the heath service said protocols are being used in the Ballarat and Horsham hospital emergency departments as well as at inpatient units.

Project coordinator Hannah Ryan-West said Grampians Health is committed to providing timely care.

“Patient movement within the health sector is a long-standing multifaceted problem and COVID has certainly highlighted this,” she said.

“For the Department of Health to acknowledge this and fund improvement work, it is a great opportunity for Grampians Health to look at more efficient ways of doing things to assist getting people to the right place at the right time for the care they require.”

The project is set to run until June 2024 and a statement from Grampians Health said the service is working with stakeholders to make appropriate changes.

“In working to achieve this, our project team is working not only with the emergency departments and the inpatient ward staff at Horsham and Ballarat but also with consumers and staff across all of our campuses to streamline organisational communications influencing patient flow,” said Ms Ryan-West.