Emergency growth
February 7, 2012
THE growth in demand for
emergency department services is
outstripping population growth,
according to the Australasian
College for Emergency Medicine.
The comments are based on a
recent study published in the latest
issue of Emergency Medicine
Australasia, which found that
demand for public emergency
department (ED) care increased by
37% over the decade ending at the
beginning of 2010.
“This growth in demand exceeds
general population growth, and the
variability between states both in
utilisation rates and overall trends
defies immediate explanation,” said
study author Professor Gerry
FitzGerald from the School of
Public Health at the Queensland
University of Technology.
According to the study the ED
utilisation rate in Australia, which is
currently 331 per 1000 persons, has
been growing at an average of 1.8%
per annum over the past decade.
As for explaining the increase, the
FitzGerald said Australia’s ageing
population may not be the full
story, citing ACT as an example, as
although it had the highest growth
of 7.65% in the number of persons
aged 85 and over, its ED
presentation rates did not change
significantly.
“Also, in a separate analysis of ED
presentations at Queensland public
hospitals, we found that the
presentations per 1000 persons
decreased for the over 60 age
group in the 5 years between
2003–2004 and 2008–2009, but
increased among the 0- to 14-yearold
group,” he said.
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