Occupational violence due to inadequate real-time ED data
AMA Queensland welcomed the government’s Open Hospitals portal as a good first step in providing patients, health staff and the community with real-time information about our public health system. Recognising areas for improvement, we have been in communication with Health Minister Tim Nicholls and Director General Dr David Rosengren with our suggestions.
AMA Queensland to Health Minister Tim Nicholls, 13 February 2025
The Government's Open Hospitals portal is a welcome first step in modernising our health system and something AMA Queensland has urged the government to do for years, including in our Ambulance Ramping Roundtable and Surgical Wait List Roundtable Action Plans.
However, the portal still has a long way to go if it is going to provide a full picture of the situation in our hospitals at any given moment in time.
Emergency department doctors are reporting incidents of:
- occupational violence from patients against ED staff due to the inadequacies of the data on the portal, and
- patients presenting to EDs expecting wait times to accord with that on the website and getting increasingly agitated with ED staff when they wait longer.
We urge the government to act immediately to inform the public of:
- the limited nature of the data, and
- what the real wait times are to receive treatment
before our hardworking emergency doctors and nurses are subjected to further abuse.
We also welcomed an opportunity to meet with Minister Nicholls to discuss our suggestions and additional data for inclusion in the portal.
Read our letter to Minister Nicholls
Director General Dr David Rosengren to AMA Queensland, 17 February 2025
Dr Rosengren responded to our letter in relation to aggression and violence associated with the introduction of the ED real-time data as requested by Minister Nicholls.
The letter reiterates Queensland Health's commitment to providing a safe workplace for all employees by working with EDs across the state to ensure staff have access to the available resources to set behavioural expectations and assist in the de-escalation of patients when they experience unexpected delays in treatment.
He encourages hospital staff to report all instances, including verbale abuse, via the established formal channels.
In response to our members' concerns regarding the website and its information, he said:
As you know, EDs are extremely dynamic by nature and the number of incoming patients, and the complexity and severity of their conditions can impact the order in which existing patients are seen and the waiting time they experience. These impacts are experienced 'live' and take immediate effect. This may result in a discrepancy between the median waiting time physically experienced (an individuals' unique experience), and the waiting time experienced by patients in the past two hours (published on website).
Importantly the waiting time measure reported is based on patients who commenced treatment in the preceding 120 minutes. It is not indicative of the total time a patient may spend at the ED or minor injury and illness clinic.
He also informs us that:
- consumer materials are being prepared for posting in waiting rooms of EDs and minor injury and illness clinics to reinforce the data context and support staff in responding to enquiries,
- Queensland Health is gathering ongoing consumer and staff feedback to enable the website to continue to evolve following its initial release, and
- a forum for consultation with clinicians and other stakeholders is planned to provide ongoing opportunities for refinements.
The Minister's office has reached out to us to organise a meeting to discuss these matters, and we look forward speaking with them further about our member's concerns.
