Length of stay

The progress of the patient through the ED is recorded using 5 different time points: presentation time, triage time, clinical care commencement, episode end time and physical departure time as depicted in Figure 1.

These can be used to calculate the length of stay for 50% and 90% of patients, as well as the proportion of patients whose ED stay was completed in 4 hours.

The length of stay is calculated as the time spent in the ED, from arrival to physical departure. Comparisons of length of stay statistics by state and territory are provided in the sub sections below.

Representation of patient journey through the emergency department. Presentation, Triage, Commencement of clinical care, Waiting time, Time spent in the emergency department.

Figure 1: Measurement of time patients spend in emergency departments

Visualisation not available for printing

See Tables 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, S6.1 and S6.2 for caveat information on these data. Available to download in the data section.

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