For two decades, the demand for emergency department services in Australia has outpaced population growth and wait times have increased. In 2022-2023 more than 8.8 million emergency department presentations occurred nationwide.
While demand is a contributing factor, EDs are currently being impacted by various factors across the entire health system.
The Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) is a non-profit organisation funding innovative Australian research that improves the way people are cared for in a medical emergency. The aim of the research is to deliver better and more effective health services to save lives and money.
Professor Hugh Grantham, Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) Chair on the urgent challenges in emergency departments states, “The issue of system-wide delays from triage to admission to treatment and discharge is one of the Australian healthcare system’s most challenging problems and it severely impacts vulnerable patient groups, including aged care and mental health patients.”
In February 2024, the Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) launched a $1.3 million fund for new research grants dedicated to addressing the pressing issues in emergency care to improve patient outcomes in Australia.
These projects will include innovative ways to improve pain management in children, treating diabetic patients, and optimising treatment for patients who call an ambulance for nausea or vomiting.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Dr Kim Hansen, Emergency Medicine Foundation Board Director, author & presenter of a broad range of topics including ED crowding, incident reporting, cognitive bias and gender equity.
Since launching in 2007, EMF has fostered significant growth in research and innovation in emergency, prehospital and retrieval medicine across Queensland. These EMF-funded research projects have proved both effective and wide-reaching, with a recent mental health study projected to save the Australian health system $30 million.
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Jamie Stanistreet talks Medical Technology
Jamie Stanistreet
Retired Managing Director Medtronic Australia and New Zealand
talks Medical Technology in Australia and the Asia-Pacific -
Sovereign capability uplifted
Skilled labour, in particular skilled in the manufacture of MTP products, namely competency in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), was identified as one of the key priorities, according to Jarrod Belcher, Director of the REDI Program at MTPConnect. Through a competitive process, MTPConnect selected additional industry training providers to deliver new programs addressing key skills gaps in the sector workforce.
Launched in September 2022, one of these programs is GMP Uplift developed by the Centre for Biopharmaceutical Excellence (CBE). CBE bring experience across large and small Biologics, Pharmaceuticals and Regenerative Medicine companies, both in consulting and GMP related enterprise training. CBE staff also have extensive experience in GMP operations, compliance, auditing and QMS design, a wide industry network for guest lecturers and readily available case studies.
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Journey of an ICU Nurse on International Nurses Day 2025
Kate Leigh is a clinical nurse at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Perth, Western Australia, with seven and a half years of experience in intensive care, having started her career in London as a new graduate nurse. Initially focused on haematology, she found herself drawn to ICU after meeting a confident and knowledgeable nurse during a discharge. Inspired by his expertise and assuredness, Kate decided to pursue a transfer to Critical Care after seeing an internal advertisement that highlighted educational opportunities and professional development programs.
