Emergency Department Load Share Initiative

The model has been effective at increasing both ED and inpatient capacity. This has reduced unnecessary patient transport – positively impacting the ambulance service and patient experience and avoiding non-value adding handover. A 12 month analysis of post implementation data shows that from commencement of the EDLS on the 18 October 2021 to 17 October 2022, the initiative has:

• Diverted 2737 patients to all three providers an average of 53 patients per week
• Admitted 1658 of those patients (61 per cent) to receive inpatient care