Long waits in Tasmanian hospital emergency departments were revealed in a new report

Ninety per cent of Tasmanians admitted to an ED stayed up to 19 hours and 24 minutes, while the remaining 10 per cent stayed even longer. 

The statistics were detailed in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Emergency department care 2015–16: Australian hospital statistics report, released on Thursday.  

The report also showed nine out of ten patients waited up to two hours for clinical care, while the remaining 10 per cent waited longer.

Time spent in an ED for admitted patients decreased from 21 hours and 34 minutes in 2014-15.

The Northern Territory was second at 15 hours and 56 minutes in 2015-16. The proportion of patients seen on time decreased in Tasmania, dropping to 66 per cent from 70 per cent in 2014-15.

Emergency department presentations consistently increased in Tasmania over the past five years, hitting 153,541, up 2.3 per cent from the year before. The state had a high percentage of patients who left without being admitted or referred, at 105,727, or 68.2 per cent, across the state’s four public hospital EDs. 

A Tasmanian Health Service spokesman said EDs were a “critical part” of the THS infrastructure.

“While our emergency departments do at times deal with increased periods of demand, there is always room for improvement, which is why strategies like Patients First have been implemented to improve service delivery and patient outcomes.”