A new $3.1 million state-of-the-art command centre at Sunshine Coast University Hospital is expected to bolster under-strain local health services.
Some patients had to wait for more than seven-and-a-half hours in ambulances and hallways at the region’s hospitals last year, and Sunshine Coast Health has tried to keep up with an influx of patients during the past 12 months.
The focus of the recently constructed, purpose-built command centre is to ensure local patients have access to a hospital bed when needed. It will give staff a service-wide view of bed demand, capacity and patient flow.Queensland Ambulance Service staff will also be based within the command centre, allowing the two services to work closely together and ensuring patients receive care in the most appropriate place.The total investment for the project is $5 million, including $1.9 million in infrastructure and ICT improvements for other Sunshine Coast Health facilities to link in with the command centre.
In the most recent reporting quarter (April to June) 53,804 people accessed a Sunshine Coast Health emergency department. This included 10 per cent more category one presentations compared to the same time in 2022.
Sunshine Coast Health chief executive Dr Peter Gillies said the service was committed to improving the flow of patients.
“Providing high-level care is a priority, and the command centre uses real-time data and modelling to monitor and coordinate patient arrivals, admissions and departures,” he said.
“It means we can help ensure a patient’s journey to the hospital, their care within the hospital and their discharge is as seamless as possible, with many different health professionals involved in the care along the way.“This state-of-the-art facility will not only support the day-to-day overall operational management for our hospitals providing a better experience for patients, but it also integrates with our emergency response service, meaning Sunshine Coast Health will be further supported in any internal or external emergency.“I want to thank our dedicated Sunshine Coast Health clinicians, Queensland Ambulance Service, and support teams for the work they do to provide high-quality person-centred care.”
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