No ramping issue here

DESPITE concerns across Victoria regarding emergency department “ramping”, Swan
Hill District Health maintains a strong ambulance waiting time record.

The
Minister for Health David Davis responded to concerns about wait times for
patients needing emergency care in Victoria by releasing a report by the
Ambulance Transfer Taskforce last Saturday.

The taskforce has made a series
of recommendations designed to “improve the flow of patients through Victorian
hospitals”.

One of the recommendations implemented by the Minister was to
give full and immediate responsibility to the emergency department for a patient
taken to hospital by ambulance.

“Patients who need urgent care will be taken
to the nearest appropriate emergency department, where hospitals will
immediately assume responsibility for that patient’s care,” the report
said.

For more on this story see Friday’s edition of the Guardian (15/11/2013).