Free resources help LHDs educate patients and manage ED flow

Healthdirect Australia is working with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (LHD) to educate patients and promote appropriate alternatives to emergency departments (EDs).

Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD is involved in the NSW Ministry of Health's Patient Flow Collaborative — a program that coordinates efforts to improve patient access to and flow through NSW hospitals. The Patient Flow Collaborative supports hospitals to improve emergency treatment performance and address the Premier’s Priority, through the implementation of strategies across the entire patient journey.

Taking the pressure off EDs is a fundamental part of Healthdirect Australia's charter. We are always pleased to work collaboratively with LHDs and PHNs to promote our free resources, which encourage people to seek the most appropriate care for their needs — whether it is self-care, visiting a pharmacy, finding a GP or, in case of emergencies, visiting the ED or phoning an ambulance.

Right care, right time, at a local level

Ben Wakeling, the Whole of Health Program Lead at Wollongong Hospital in the Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD, used the free marketing materials available on the Healthdirect Australia website to support his local campaign.

"These resources were exactly what I needed. I liaised directly with Healthdirect Australia to source subtitled videos to play on our ED waiting room televisions. The videos included 'What care do I need?', 'The role of the GP' and 'healthdirect Symptom Checker'. I also ordered corresponding posters and handouts to go in our ED waiting room.

"The availability of these materials meant our LHD didn't need to duplicate the effort and cost of producing the videos ourselves. Coming from another government source, I could trust that they were safe, of the highest quality and had gone through appropriate consumer-focused development," said Mr Wakeling.

Changing consumer behaviour

Before launching his local Whole of Health Program campaign, Mr Wakeling conducted benchmarking research to understand which patients were considered 'Category 5' — presenting at the ED when in some cases they could have been treated appropriately in other parts of the health system.

His campaign, launched in December 2018, includes materials from COORDINARE — South Eastern NSW PHN's 'Make the right call to get the right health care' campaign and the regional after-hours home visit medical service, Radio Doctor Illawarra.

"There are always many variables in changing people's behaviour, so measuring the impact of this part of the program is tied into other initiatives.

"We'll get some indication of how successful the campaign is when we undertake further analysis. In addition, we may get an indication of whether the message is getting across when we look at the healthdirect Healthmap, which can show if the number of calls to the healthdirect helpline has increased in our local area," he said.

"I believe this program has the potential to be shared and rolled out right across NSW to help educate patients and their families, and reduce the strain on our EDs," concluded Mr Wakeling.