❓ This parliamentary question seeks clarification on the measurement of ambulance ramping and the four-hour rule in WA, specifically regarding changes to definitions and the starting point of the four-hour clock for ramped patients.
AnsweredQoN 4681Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the measurements used by WA Health for ambulance ramping and the 4 hour rule, and I ask: (a) have any alterations been made to the definition or measurement of these metrics in the past 5 years, and if so can the Minister please detail what these are and when they were made; and (b) can the Minister confirm that when a patient arrives at an Emergency Department in an ambulance where the ambulance is ramped on arrival, when the ambulance returns to the road, does the ‘clock’ immediately start on the 4 hour rule?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
24 November 2015
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
33 days
(a) The definition or measurement of ambulance ramping and the four (4) hour rule has not been altered. An additional indicator 'Off Stretcher' was introduced in January 2014. 'Off stretcher' measures the duration from the arrival of the ambulance at the receiving hospital's Emergency Department (ED) to the transfer of the patient from the care of St John Ambulance Australia crew to the care of the ED staff.
(b) The National Emergency Access Target (previously the Four Hour Rule) clock starts when the patient is triaged. Triage of ambulance patients occurs as soon as practicable from ambulance arrival.
(b) The National Emergency Access Target (previously the Four Hour Rule) clock starts when the patient is triaged. Triage of ambulance patients occurs as soon as practicable from ambulance arrival.
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