EMERGENCY department referrals will be reduced in Orange after a medical practice was awarded a government grant for after- hours services and equipment to ease the pressure on the hospital.
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Colour City Medical Practice is the only service in Orange to receive the grant from the Western Primary Health Network (WPHN) in an effort to reduce the number of people presenting to the hospital for non-urgent cases after hours.
The grant means practice staff can carry out a range of initial diagnostic tests and procedures similar to those in the accident and emergency department and offer extended hours at the practice.
Dr Ruanna Levi said the new service and equipment will be in addition to the existing on-call 24/7 general practitioner available through the practice.
Dr Levi said the community based diagnostic service will in no way replace the services required when patients are referred for further testing after an initial diagnosis.
“The equipment we will be using is the same as used in the initial diagnostic phase at hospital,” she said.
“If we can take our patients through this process to determine if they require further treatment at hospital, it could ease the pressure on the emergency department.”
Dr Levi said examples of how the new practice service would ease the pressure on the accident and emergency department would include diagnosis using the new equipment and the prescribing of antibiotics.
“In another instance someone may have had a fall and we will be able to take some initial X-rays to determine if there is a fracture requiring a hospital visit, or tissue damage,” she said.
“This just makes a lot of sense as I have a background working in public health and I know how important the use of our public resources are.”
She said she has an empathy with emergency department staff who are always under pressure to assess people who present with non-acute conditions.
WPHN chief executive officer Andrew Harvey said it was exciting to see health providers such as general practices and pharmacies that have been successful in achieving grants to provide new models of care in their town or area.
Late last year the WPHN invited medical owners of practices and pharmacies to apply for grants to extend hours.
janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au
