Leading doctors, nurses, and paramedics have come together at the inaugural Emergency Care Collective Conference. The first of its kind gathering of Emergency and Urgent Care providers has showcased new technology and innovative healthcare models which can improve medical treatment for communities.

Gold Coast

Healthcare professionals from across Australia, including emergency physicians, general practitioners, nurses, and paramedics, have convened at the Emergency Care Collective Conference on the Gold Coast. The event, described as the first of its kind, aims to bridge the gap between general practice and hospital emergency departments, focusing on improving patient care nationwide.

The conference highlights the growing role of in-community care centers and urgent care clinics as alternatives to overcrowded emergency rooms. Delegates are sharing skills, stories, and new technologies to enhance patient outcomes, while also calling for greater government and regulatory support for healthcare workers. The initiative emphasizes the importance of collaboration and maintaining high educational standards in a rapidly evolving medical landscape.

Doctors, nurses unite to improve patient care

From sonography and suturing to splints and even sedation, some of Australia's leading emergency care physicians have come together with GPs, nurses and paramedics in a first-of-its-kind gathering aimed at improving patient care right across the country. This is the first conference which has been designed to bridge the gap between general practice and complex hospital departments. Dr. Pankaj Arora is CEO of Wise Medical and convener of the Emergency Care Collective Conference. We have to bring a change in how patients access health care. We can't just leave them with emergency rooms. We have to create in-community centers which are fully skilled, fully equipped to look after these acute care patients. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, only 30% of people presenting to emergency rooms at public hospitals end up being admitted, with the majority treated and sent home. We know our hospital systems are a breaking point. Waiting rooms in the emergency department are overcrowded and we've realized that there's a better way of doing it. With more GP-led Medicare urgent care clinics now open in suburbs across Australia and a number of private emergency clinics also on offer, patients increasingly have the option to turn to in-community health care hubs for advice and treatment. We're becoming more patient-focused. We're becoming more about, you know, what does the patient want in that moment? More medical staff are needed to support the sector. Whether that's general practitioners, whether that's nurse practitioners, emergency physicians or just acute care physicians, there's a space for us all. I'm a senior consultant at Royal North Shore. If we can take at least a little bit of the heat out of that emergency room, we've got a huge value add to the community. Here at the Emergency Care Collective Conference on the Gold Coast, in addition to sharing skills, delegates are also sharing stories and trialing the latest technology, all in the name of improving patient outcomes. We have an incredible responsibility in this field to maintain our educational standards because the world is moving so quickly. Knowing other healthcare professionals in different areas allows us to look after our patients in a much better way. And now as in-community care becomes more accessible to patients, there are calls for the government and regulators to do more to support doctors. Really the community is where the front line is. Without a doctor's own well-being, we can't deliver compassionate, excellent healthcare. We as a patient come in and we just want to be looked after straightaway. So I have such a different appreciation and understanding of what happens. The most important thing we're trying to do here is to create a mindset of leaders in the health to be able to bring this change and making our care for patients better and better.

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