One of Australia’s busiest hospitals is seeking “innovative” solutions to clear its bed blockages that contribute to ambulance ramping and overcrowding in its emergency department.
The Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, which takes in Gold Coast University Hospital, has asked for expressions of interest for innovative solutions to create out-of-hospital overnight beds, as the region’s population booms.
The Gold Coast is Australia’s largest non-capital city.
“GCHHS facilities are largely at capacity with the Gold Coast area experiencing rapid and significant population growth,” documents on the Queensland government’s tender website reveal.
Hospital ‘bed blockages’ create ambulance ramping issues. Credit: Nine
“There are circumstances where external delays in accessing permanent or temporary accommodation exist for patients transitioning to either new living arrangements or to return home.”
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Patients would include people with complex psychosocial needs, those awaiting aged care placement, adults with disabilities, and wound care patients not suitable for hospital in the home.
Failure to provide enough residential aged and disability care places means the elderly and disabled are staying for weeks or months in hospitals as they wait to be assessed for a residential care bed. This creates “bed blockages” that lead to delays throughout the hospital, right down to the emergency department door.
In May, the Gold Coast University Hospital made headlines after the death of a 78-year-old man with diabetes who suffered a heart attack after he was “ramped” in an ambulance for about one hour and 45 minutes.