Austin Hospital ED Stabilisation
MBM Project Lead
Client Name
Victorian Health Building Authority
Sector
Health & Research
Timeline
2023 - Ongoing
Project Value
Confidential
MBM Project Team
- Lee Williams
Shaun Sciberras
Tamara Perera
Tram Truong
Milad Elyasi or
Services Provided
MBM provided full cost management services throughout all stages of the project.
Project Background and Scope
The Austin Hospital ED became operational in 2005. The projected attendance levels were exceeded in the first year of operation and have continued to increase. There was an urgent and critical need to stabilise the ED to support local resident in accessing health services locally.
The objectives of the project are:
- To provide more equitable local access to acute emergency services
- To improve staff and patient safety
- To improve patient experiences and outcomes.
By addressing the challenges outlined above the Austin Hospital Emergency Department Stabilisation the Project will deliver:
- Better Access – improved access, including reduced waiting times, fewer patients leaving the ED without being seen, more timely admissions and increased ambulance availability
- Better Care – improved quality of care and patient experience
- Better Health – improved health outcomes for patients
- Better safety – improved staff and patient safety
Project Challenges
Long-term Demand
Long term demand due to increasing rates of chronic disease and continuous population growth is overwhelming the emergency capacity in Austin’s ED.
Key components of this problem include:
- demand exceeds capacity for emergency care
- patient complexity is increasing
- emergency performance is not meeting benchmarks
- the current ED is operating in excess of intended capacity, and overcrowding has a negative impact on health outcomes and patient experience:
- Inadequate capacity increases the burden on other hospitals and services
- Inadequate capacity increases negative impacts on Ambulance Victoria transfer times, leading to increase ambulance ramping, declining performance and poorer response to other emergencies.
Existing Infrastructure
Existing infrastructure is no longer fit-for purpose and constrained capacity is causing harm to staff and prevents the delivery of safe high-quality care to everyone requiring emergency care.
Key components of this problem include:
- Capacity constraints lead to patients being treated in sub-optimal clinical settings
- he current ED infrastructure does not support the provision of contemporary models of care
- Inadequate separation of ED’s can cause distress for patients, carers and families
- Current facilities do not support staff safety and wellbeing.