Among the many issues raised by the program was the increasing pressure facing hospital Emergency Departments (EDs) and staff around the country, as they struggle to keep up with increasing demand. New hospital access block survey data obtained by ACEM shows Australian EDs are more crowded than ever before, with the figures representing the worst overcrowding ever reported in these biannual snapshots that have been undertaken since 2007. Caring for patients waiting for hospital beds represented one third of the ED workload, and in large hospitals this figure was over 40%, the survey of hospital EDs taken at 10am local time on 2 September 2019 revealed. Additionally, 132 patients were identified in 40 hospitals with dangerously long wait times of more than 24 hours. Although there has been little change in demand for admission to wards over the past four surveys, the number of patients waiting in the ED […]