AMBULANCE VICTORIA STRATEGIC PLAN 2010 â 2012

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Equity in Service Delivery There are inherent difficulties in the provision of ambulance services in remote areas and areas with lower population densities. The Government’s response time targets reflect these difficulties, with one target for population centres of more than 7,500 people, and a somewhat lesser target for the State overall. Continuing improvements in air ambulance and retrieval systems, including the introduction of two new helicopters in 2009, will assist in providing better access to appropriate levels of care across the State. Nevertheless, a number of key areas have been identified where differentials in service standards are of particular concern. Cardiac arrest survival rates in rural areas are well below those achieved in the metropolitan area. This is not surprising given the importance of rapid response in cardiac arrest outcomes. However, a more complete understanding of the reasons for the difference is needed and new strategies to improve performance need to be developed. Call taking, dispatch and ambulance communications systems play a critical role in the quality of service delivery. There have been important improvements in these systems across the State in recent years, but rural call taking and dispatch systems remain well below best practice standards. The introduction of a new rural system managed by the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority will be a key priority for the planning period. Another important focus will be further development of an integrated statewide major incident management system, ensuring there is appropriate capability in all parts of the State. Risk of major incidents AV’s major incident system has been tested by a number of recent events, including the 2009 bushfires, and has proved its effectiveness. However, learning from these experiences to strengthen systems is essential to ensure an appropriate level of preparedness for response to all types of incident (including pandemic) is maintained. Monitoring risk and close collaboration with the relevant planning and response agencies at all levels of government are cornerstones of the system. Further strengthening of national links is a particular priority for future development of the system. Another key aspect is the ability to maintain normal services while managing a major incident, especially if it is prolonged. Evidence Based Practice The introduction of the Victorian Ambulance Clinical Information System was one of the most significant ambulance initiatives in the State in the last five years. VACIS provides a rich source of clinical data which can assist in driving the development of clinical practice and education. A number of other Australian services are now using VACIS, creating the opportunity for national sharing of consistent data. Linkages with hospital data are also being established to provide a more complete picture of patient outcomes. Ensuring the full benefits of this data are realised is an on-going priority. More generally, quality systems and performance monitoring will continue to evolve, with particular focus on patient outcome measures. Further development of AV’s role in pre-hospital research, usually in partnership with universities or other health services, will also assist in strengthening the evidence base for service improvement. 5
Advances in information and technology Recent developments in information management systems have created new opportunities to drive performance improvements, but significant challenges remain. Key priorities include the integration of a number of the systems inherited from AV’s predecessor organisations, increased real time performance reporting, wider dissemination of geographic information and improving access to information for in-field managers. Real time data linkages with hospitals and greater use of decision support technologies have the potential to significantly improve operational processes and system performance. Resource Constraints The Government provided a major injection of new funding for AV in 2008-2009, enabling significant recruitment for additional road response resources and the introduction of two new ambulance helicopters for the State. However, the demands on the organisation are continuing to grow and there is increasing competition for scarce resources within the health sector and beyond. In addition to the financial constraints, the recruitment of qualified paramedics may become more difficult as competition from other jurisdictions increases. Continuing improvement in the efficiency of operations is imperative in such a resource constrained environment. This will include maintaining the current focus on improving processes for patient handover at hospital emergency departments and further development of more dynamic deployment of response units. Complementing the focus on efficiency, strategies to protect and enhance revenue (especially from the Membership Scheme) will need to be pursued. Organisational Consolidation AV commenced operations on 1 July 2008, and integration of the key processes and systems of its predecessor organisations is now well advanced. However, a number of significant challenges remain to consolidate the transition process. These include further development of internal communications processes and completion of the transition to statewide information and business systems. An important benefit of the creation of the new organisation is the opportunity it provides for the refinement of existing processes and systems. 6
Page 1 and 2: PARTNERS FOR LIFE AMBULANCE VICTORI
Page 3 and 4: 3. Principles AV is committed to a
Page 5: Health System development Ambulance
Page 9 and 10: Community expectations and capabili
Page 11 and 12: Objectives Strategic themes Key iss
Page 13 and 14: 7. Strategic Initiatives 2010 to 20
Page 15 and 16: Strategic themes Strategies Outcome
Page 17 and 18: Non-Emergency Transport Strategic t
Page 19 and 20: Major Incident Preparedness Strateg
Page 25 and 26: 4. Strengthen community relationshi
Page 27 and 28: AV Strategic Framework AV role and
Page 29 and 30: Performance Indicator Patient outco
Page 31 and 32: 9. Ambulance Victoria in 2012 AV’

AMBULANCE VICTORIA STRATEGIC PLAN 2010 â 2012

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?

AMBULANCE VICTORIA STRATEGIC PLAN 2010 â 2012