HOSPITAL SERVICES REPORT : ACCESS TO EMERGENCY SERVICES - DEC 96

How many patients are treated in our hospital emergency departments?

Patients treated in hospital emergency departments^1,2

	Sept 95 Quarter	June 96 Quarter	Sept96 Quarter	Change (%) June to Sept
Patients treated	172676	172969	168258	-2.7

1. Data only for hospitals participating in the Emergency Services Enhancement Program. A complete list of these hospitals is given in Table 3.2.

2. Statistics up to September 1995, in this and previous editions of the Hospital Services Report, have been supplied from the Agency Information Management System (AIMS) which reports on the number of occasions of service. Since the March 1996 edition of the Hospital Services Report, data have been included from the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD) which commenced operation in October 1995. The VEMD reports on patient attendances, which are preferred to occasions of service as an indicator of the number of patients seeking treatment in emergency departments. VEMD data have been provided for Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, Ballarat Base Hospital, Bendigo Health Care Group, Box Hill Hospital, Dandenong Hospital, The Geelong Hospital, Goulburn Valley Base Hospital, Maroondah Hospital, Monash Medical Centre, Mornington Peninsula Hospital, Preston and Northcote Community Hospital, Royal Children's Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital, St Vincent's Hospital and Western Hospital. Further VEMD data will be included in subsequent editions of the Hospital Services Report as they become available. AIMS data have been used where VEMD data are not yet available.

Sources: Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset, Agency Information Management System