One big, unsafe bottleneck: Redesigning Emergency Departments for safety and flow

Even before Covid-19, many working in the health system would claim that Emergency Departments weren’t in the best of health.

The narrative in the media, and from clinicians themselves, paints a picture of overcrowded spaces, overwhelmed and unsafe for patients and staff, bottlenecked and stretched beyond capacity yet growing bigger – and bigger - but not necessarily smarter.  Creating healthcare systems that meet the very best expectations and conditions for staff and patients should be a focus for communities and operators, and this involves examining the models of health, safety, privacy, the popularity of telehealth and the role of emerging technologies.

As part of a WomenIn_ panel event hosted by our Melbourne studio, we invited Mya Cubitt, Emergency Physician at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Stefano Scalzo, from the Victorian Health Building Authority, as well as Health, Infrastructure and Planning Consultant Brian Stevenson, to join Hassell's Health sector leader Leanne Guy and Managing Director Steve Coster to discuss the ever changing needs of Emergency Departments.

This episode was produced by Prue Vincent and Annie Scapetis.