Timely Emergency Care

Dean Pritchard, Clinical Faculty, Timely Emergency Care: Patients wait too long in the ED because hospitals don't flow as well as they could. The Timely Emergency Care Collaborative looks to address this issue, not just in the ED, where we've been working for very many years, but right across the hospital.

[On-screen text with background music: Timely Emergency care (TEC) is a collaboration between public health services across Victoria, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Victorian Department of Health.]

David Rosaia, Chief Operating Officer, Bendigo Health: There's no doubt one of the main benefits of a project like TEC is collaboration. So, when you have multiple health services working all together on a particular initiative, you get to share ideas and you also get to consolidate your thinking with others, which is really, really important.

[On-screen text with background music: TEC is making our public healthcare system safer and more efficient, to ensure all Victorians receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.]

Kelly Gate, ED Clinical Lead, Bairnsdale Regional Health Services: Mingling today with people who have experienced similar issues and have found solutions to those problems, it's given us a lot of ideas to go back with on how to implement those changes.

[On-screen text with background music: TEC takes a whole-of-hospital approach to improving how healthcare services operate by enhancing systems and processes across the board.]

Alison Gough, Consumer representative, Royal Melbourne Hospital: A couple of years ago, my mum was admitted to Royal Melbourne with a broken shoulder, and she ended up spending 11 weeks in hospital. We had no idea why or what was happening, and so it really prompted my interest in becoming more involved in health care.

[On-screen text with background music: TEC aims to:
- Reduce hospital length of stay
- Ease pressure on Emergency Departments
- Streamline staff workflows
- Expand access to home-based care.]

Lannie Ho, Clinical Faculty, Timely Emergency Care: So, our Timely Emergency Care project is aimed at looking at the entire patient journey for the older person. So, looking at their experience from front door, improving their care throughout the hospital stay and ensuring that they are supported in their journey towards home as well.

Rajith Thotigar, Emergency Department Associate Nurse Unit Manager, The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital: I'm hopeful that we will be able to create a safe and calm environment for patients, staff, and also improve the patient flow throughout the hospital.

[On-screen text with background music: To learn more about Timely Emergency Care, visit www.health.vic.gov.au/patient-care/timely-emergency-care]

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