The here and now
Increasing surgical capacity
New beds for day surgery
Day surgery at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) received a boost in 2023-24 with the addition of 19 inpatient beds, in a 2 stage approach and a new day surgery unit for day stay patients.
The move significantly increased our day surgery capacity.
Bentley Health Service (BHS) has continued to provide surgical step-down beds for our general surgery and trauma patients, plus their own surgical inpatients.
This strategy, in conjunction with our program of works to reduce elective cancellations through greater capacity and system changes, saw 1,021 more cases at RPH and an additional 742 cases at BHS completed, compared to the previous year.
Enhanced recovery after surgery
A new day surgery pilot program – Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) – was launched in February 2024 at St John of God Midland Public Hospital (SJGMPH).
ERAS aims to improve patient outcomes by encouraging early discharge and rapid resumption of normal activities post-surgery. The program targets young and public patients undergoing non-complex elective surgical procedures.
New era with hospital care beyond our walls
We took hospital care into patients’ homes this year through a revolutionary EMHS Home Hospital (HH) service which was trialled at RPH and began a new era of healthcare delivery.
Under the service, a virtual ward delivers hospital-level care in a patient’s home with round-the-clock monitoring equipment, daily virtual ward rounds by medical staff and daily or twice daily in-person visits by nurses and allied health professionals.
HH aims to improve hospital capacity, reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections, falls and delirium, and give patients a greater choice of care.
It began as a 3-month, one to 3-bed trial in April 2024 and is set to transition to a 12 month, 10-bed pilot from July 2024.
Eligible patients are identified by a Clinical Nurse Manager or referred by a specialist and undergo a suitability assessment and safety checks.
The service currently cares for 2 to 3 patients a week.
Findings from the trial will inform the pilot service delivery model as we continue to refine this exciting care option.
Advances in virtual aged care
Our integration of virtual health in aged care settings took another important step forward this year through the Community Health in a Virtual Environment (Co-HIVE) Aged Care service.
From February 2024, older adults who did not need emergency care were able to be referred to Co-HIVE by the WA Virtual Emergency Department (WAVED), giving them access to urgent medical advice in their residences and alleviating pressure on ambulances and emergency departments.
Co-HIVE, a geriatrician-led service for people in residential aged care facilities (RACF) in our catchment area, began as a pilot in 2022 before becoming part of our normal operating services.
It has so far supported more than 1000 admissions to the service, with 3 care pathways covering pre-emergency situations, emergency referrals from WAVED and discharge from hospital.
