Cairns Hospital

Hospital activity

The Queensland Health Hospital Performance Framework is designed to ensure Queenslanders have access to an effective, efficient and equitable health and hospital system. In accordance with this framework, Queensland Health measures a range of indicators, such as patient activity, length of stay and hospital resources to evaluate and continually improve the performance of this hospital.

Activity at a glance

Queensland Health delivers close to 6 million different health services over a year. Activity in hospitals includes admitted patient services (patients that have been formally admitted and are allocated to a hospital bed) and non-admitted patient services. Non-admitted patient services, also known as ‘outpatient services’ are service events that include a range of outpatient activity mainly specialist clinic appointments, allied health services and some clinical procedures (such as clinical measurement).  It does not include pathology (blood tests) or the full range of diagnostic services (such as general imaging, CT scans, MRI and PET).

The following information relates to the activity that passes through this hospital during the period.

Hospital resources

Each hospital utilises a number of resources to provide effective and efficient health services to Queenslanders. These resources encompass both equipment and human capital. Queensland Health monitors these resources throughout the period to ensure they meet demand and contribute to providing the highest standard of care for all patients.

Staffing

Staff counts are captured on a quarterly basis and include both the headcount of Queensland Health staff (the number of individual staff members) and full-time equivalent (FTE) positions (the total workforce capacity based on hours worked).

Hospital beds and bed alternatives

Queensland Health provides beds and bed alternatives for patient treatment. Patients may receive treatment in various types of beds and alternatives depending on their specific needs. Bed alternatives include Emergency department trolleys, specially equipped chairs for chemotherapy and renal dialysis treatments, stretchers in observation wards, and more.

Queensland Health reports the number of available beds and bed alternatives. For a bed or bed alternative to be reported as available, it must be situated in a suitable location for patient care and accessible to available nursing and auxiliary staff, either immediately or within 24 hours.

Hospital capacity

In addition to monitoring the number of available beds, Queensland Health also monitors each hospital's resources and capacity to meet patient demand in a timely manner. The tier capacity escalation system supports hospital operations and communication, and assists in the management of local capacity issues.

If a hospital does not have the available resources required to meet demand (e.g. there are no available beds to allocate to new hospital arrivals), the hospital may escalate its capacity shortage as a 'Tier 3'. If a Tier 3 capacity escalation occurs, the hospital will alert the Queensland Patient Access Coordination Hub (QPACH).

Tier 3 capacity escalation status changes may be frequent and are not fully comparable between hospitals, as definitions and potential responses vary. Past frequency and duration of Tier 3 capacity escalations is not an indicator of current or future service availability, and this measure is not suitable to guide consumers regarding access to health care.