Minister for Health Ryan Park announced today the funding would be used to upgrade the public health system’s ambulance patient allocation matrix system to take into account capacity at nearby emergency departments, travel times and a patient’s clinical condition.
Park said the upgrade would integrate live data in real-time to help paramedics transport patients to the closest and most appropriate emergency department.
The current ambulance matrix is almost two decades old and relies on limited, static data inputs.
Park said it meant paramedics did not currently have visibility of potential delays at emergency departments.
The investment will be spread over four years to support the roll-out across hospitals in metropolitan and rural NSW.
The upgrade is expected to begin late next year.
“This necessary upgrade will contribute to a range of initiatives in our emergency department relief package designed to improve patient flow across the system,” Park said.
Only 56 per cent of triage patients completed their emergency room visit in four hours, a five per cent drop compared to last year and the lowest figure since 2011.
On the back of the report, the AMA called for urgent funding to address the problems.