Page 650 - Week 02 - Thursday, 23 March 2023
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have a particular focus on diversity. There is a gender lens, a First Nations people lens, an LGBTI lens and a people with disability lens. There are a range of ways that seek to ensure that government boards reflect the community that they serve.
Canberra Hospital—acute medical unit
MS ORR: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, you recently announced the expansion of the acute medical unit at Canberra Hospital can you update the Assembly on the use of this model and the expansion of the AMU?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Orr for the question. The acute medical unit is designed for patients who are assessed as needing admission after presentation to the emergency department, including where it is clear that the person will need a range of tests and care early, but it is not clear which subspecialty will be most appropriate to take primary carriage.
In the 2021-22 budget, $128 million was invested overall to expand critical public hospital services, including nearly $23 million additional for the Canberra Hospital ED. This funding for the Canberra Hospital emergency department was invested in expanding the capacity of the emergency department to respond to service demand pressures and to support contemporary models of care. The recurrent funding through this initiative provided expansion of the current emergency medical unit; increased medical and nursing workforce to provide clinical oversight, clear leadership and direction; and the development of the acute medical unit. So it was part of a suite of measures.
Initially, a 12-bed AMU commenced as a time-limited pilot to inform the design and rollout of the larger unit, which has now expanded to a 24-bed unit. To facilitate the expansion, a review of the inpatient bed footprint was completed, with consideration of the needs of nursing and medical staff across the division of medicine and staff from other divisions that provide in-reach services.
The AMU opened in its new location with 24 beds on 16 February, with dedicated staffing, including more senior doctors after hours to facilitate enhanced patient flow across the hospital and enhanced experiences of patients needing acute medical care. This is a seven day a week, 24-hour service, with nursing, medical, allied health and support services. The service is already seeing success in flowing patients through the unit quickly and commencing care faster. I thank the staff in the unit for inviting me in to have a chat with them recently. It was a great pleasure to see the service underway.
MS ORR: Minister, what benefits have been seen to date with the setup of the AMU model?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: The key feature of the acute medical unit model of care is the early initial multidisciplinary team assessments to ensure patients are established on the right care plan from the beginning of their admission. Beneficial examples of this include: early medication reconciliation, making sure that the person is taking the right medications, including those that they might normally take and whether any adjustments need to be made because of their illness or a new medication; early assessment and prioritisation of allied health input by allied health clinical leads;
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