Urgent Care Centre Eligible Presentations in a Remote Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify presentations to the Alice Springs Emergency Department that could be managed in an Urgent Care Centre (UCC).

METHODS

We reviewed 1 year of ED presentation data at Alice Springs Hospital (ASH) from August 2022 to August 2023 and used a sequence of exclusion criteria to identify patients most likely to be eligible for UCC management.

RESULTS

Our model indicated that 35.0% of ED presentations at ASH during this period could have been managed in a UCC. Only 41.5% of these presentations (14.5% of total presentations) occurred during UCC operating hours.

CONCLUSIONS

According to this model, a significant proportion of ED presentations could potentially be managed in a UCC, although a large proportion of these occurred outside of UCC opening hours. The impact of the introduction of a UCC into a remote community on ED presentations, patient experience, patient outcomes and the broader system requires further study.