A Logan Hospital doctor has received a research grant to find better ways to move patients through the Emergency Department (ED).
Dr Philip Jones was awarded the Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) grant as part of a special funding round targeting patient flow.
The project, titled Implementation and Evaluation of a Surgical Rapid Assessment Unit – Improving Emergency Department Flow with Timely Surgical Care, recently received ethics approval and is now undergoing governance approvals.
Dr Jones said that once launched, the two-year study could transform how emergency surgical care worked across Queensland hospitals.
As Principal Investigator of the multi-site project, Dr Jones will lead his team in evaluating the impact of Logan’s new Surgical Rapid Assessment Unit (SRAU)
“Our new Surgical Rapid Assessment Unit connects appropriate surgical patients directly with a specialised surgical team, bypassing traditional ED pathways,” Dr Jones said. “By streamlining this process, we aim to cut waiting times, boost patient satisfaction, and make better use of our hospital resources.
“Thanks to funding from the Emergency Medicine Foundation, we can properly evaluate whether this approach delivers shorter stays, better clinical outcomes, and improved experiences for both patients and staff.
“If successful, the results are expected to significantly influence future models of emergency surgical care across the state.”