The Northern Health Emergency Department (ED) team is consistently striving to innovate and think differently to ensure the provision of timely emergency care to our community.

In pursuit of this goal, the team conducted a one-week trial in October in the Fast Track area of the Northern Hospital Epping Emergency Department, by introducing an exciting new concept known as FLIP – Fast Track Leadership and Intervention Physician.

This one-week trial involved the presence of an Emergency Physician onsite every day from 12 noon to 8 pm. The Fast Track area within the ED is a bustling environment, equipped with eight cubicles, three procedure rooms, and handles an average of 80-85 patients each day. Typically, this area caters to patients who require assessment, treatment, and care before they can safely return home.

Some patients may proceed to short-stay units or wards, while others may return on a different day for surgical procedures. The Fast Track area is well-staffed with a highly skilled team, including nurse practitioners, registrars, junior medical staff, registered nurses, allied health primary and secondary practitioners, and various support staff.

Katie Smith, Deputy Director, Emergency Department, said the aim of FLIP was to decrease the average length of time patients spend in hospital before they go home.

“FLIP will play an integral role in a busy area, ensuring our patients are getting their tests and investigations ordered as promptly as possible, so that patients are not waiting for long periods,” she said.

Initial results from the trial showed early improvement across all targeted areas of the pilot, including the length of time patients spend in Fast Track, how quickly they get seen by a clinician, with an average improvement of 25 per cent.

The FLIP initiative is part of Northern Health’s broader improvement efforts, aligning with the principles of the Timely Emergency Care Collaborative (TECC), which aims to ensure the ‘right patient, right place, the first time.’

Further work and testing are currently being undertaken in December. Planning is underway for FLIP to be sustainable long-term, and to see further improvement for our patients.

Featured image: Members of the TECC Project team and colleagues from the Department of Health and the Institute of Health care Improvement.