NSW To Deploy Concierge Officers To Ease Emergency Department Strain

By Cassandra Pace

The NSW Government is set to roll out 86 committed patient flow concierge officers across the state, with a focus on reducing emergency department pressures. Health Minister Ryan Park stated at the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue today, that 18 of these concierge officers will be deployed across the Western Sydney region due to high demand.

“The growth in presentations in Western Sydney and South Western Sydney emergency departments has outpaced the state average over the past 10 years”. This recent deployment is part of a $53.9 million budget funded by the Minns Labor Government to improve patient flow.

Concierge officers will help alleviate the pressures of discharge processes, including the support of discharge planning, identifying patients who are ready to go home, and making sure that necessary support is accessible to help assist the patient post-discharge.

Focusing On Patient’s Needs

These roles have been introduced to aid clinical staff in managing a more effective patient flow system and creating a smoother discharge process. This should provide an elevated experience for patients and improved communication, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme recipients or those living in residential aged care.

The officer’s role is essential to improve the standards of discharge flow and patient care and take on administrative tasks that will ultimately allow medical staff to focus directly on the patient’s needs.

This initiative is one of many measures included in the Minns Labor Government’s $480.7 million emergency department relief package that was announced in the state budget in June. Further key measures include:

• $15.1 million for Ambulance Matrix, which will provide real-time hospital data to assist paramedics in transporting patients to emergency departments with availability to prevent wait times. 
• The ‘New Gen’ matrix will undergo diligent and extensive testing commencing next month.
  
• $171.4 million to introduce three additional virtual care services to help 180,000 patients avoid trips to the Emergency Department. 
• $100 million to support our urgent care services, providing additional resources for around 114,000 patients outside of NSW hospitals. 
• $70 million to expand emergency department short-stay units, implemented to improve patient flow and reduce ED wait times by an estimated 80,000 hours. 
• $31.4 million to increase medical assistance in homes, spanning across the state with over 3,500 additional patients receiving better access to be cared for at home instead of hospital beds.

Primary Care In Rural Areas

Mid Term Review of the National Health Reform Agreement Addendum 2020-2025 Final Report in 2023 emphasised the lack of access to primary care in rural areas, which has resulted in increased reliance on local public hospitals and ED utilisation. Furthermore, the proportion of emergency patients seen within the clinically recommended time frame amongst all three triage categories decreased from 80% to 65% between 2011-12 and 2021-22.

The Minister for Health Ryan Park, empathises with the detrimental impact emergency department pressures have had on the community. “Having people and their loved ones waiting around in our hospitals for lengthy periods of time is not good for them, our staff, or our patients”.

The new roles and measures outlined in the Emergency Department Relief Package are expected to improve the standards of care for patients and support healthcare providers across NSW.