Funders:
MRFF 
 
Collaborators
NT Health 
Aims:  
To streamline the Emergency Departments of NT hospitals

Objectives:  
To conduct four, high priority research projects to investigate, develop and deliver a more effective and timely response to patients attending NT emergency departments.

Summary:

Menzies in partnership with NT Health will research, consult and develop ways to enable a more streamlined and effective way of delivery services to patients attending hospital emergency departments in the NT.

The initiative includes four projects:
  1. Adolescent health – Adapting and testing a patient navigation model for adolescents with complex health and psychosocial needs to reduce ED pressure at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH).  
  2. Frequent ED attenders – This project aims to streamline access to community care for patients with complex care needs who attend the ED frequently. It will scale up an individual support program to prevent fragmented care across the primary-tertiary-community interface and reduce ED presentations.
  3. Aeromedical retrievals – NT exhibits high rates of aeromedical retrievals and ED presentations.  This project will scale up the learnings of the evaluated Central Australian retrieval service which connected remote clinic staff to emergency specialists, resulting in a decrease in ED presentations; and
  4. Renal patients – Missed dialysis is a common cause of ED presentations. This project will build upon findings from the Dialysis models of care study that looked at the causative factors, outcomes and costs associated with missed dialysis to develop and implement a model of care that also reduces ED pressures.  
Implications for policy and practice:
By looking at specific patient cohorts and their processes through ED, the project aims to identify ways to improve the delivery of services that are better for the patient, more effective, efficient and connect the patient to longer-term health benefits.
 
Our research has found:
That by having increased data and information gathering at the first patient contact, and being able to offer a targeted service the ED process could offer different outcomes.
 
Chief Investigator:

Dr Didier Palmer  (NT Health)

Project Manager:

Gabrielle Mullen

Timeframe:
This research will be carried out over 5 years until 2027, with the four projects running concurrently.

Adolescents:
Co-designing, implementing and evaluating a patient navigation model of care to meet the complex needs of NT youth presenting to the Emergency Department

Frequent attendees to ED:
Streamlining access to community care for patients with complex care needs who attend the ED frequently

Aeromedical Retrievals:
Optimising aeromedical retrievals in remote Northern Territory

Renal Wellbeing Project:
Understanding the causative factors, outcomes and costs associated with missed dialysis to develop a model of care to reduce Emergency Department pressures