Patients In ⍯ Patients Out

Throughout NSW's Emergency Departments, the number of patients walking in the door is not equal to the number of patients exiting out the door (either via admission to hospital or discharge to the community). The result is severe wait times, staff burnout and ultimately, poor outcomes for patients.

The real equation is layered and complex - a web of factors that interplay and influence both patients, healthcare workers and the system itself. Here, I've done my best to depict some of what I believe to be amongst the most significant factors at play, as well as how they interact with each other on the most superficial level. A lot of our system's inadequacies seem to link back to both insufficient funding and inadequate resources that properly address Australia's evolving population needs (i.e. an ageing population and increased prevalence of chronic disease).