Helping older Australians avoid the Emergency Department

Lesley Wells (centre) shared details of her husband’s excellent experience with Flinders’ CARE initiative with Minister Hunt, supported by Professor Jonathan Craig (right), Associate Professor Tamara MacKean (second from right), Chief Investigator Associate Professor Craig Whitehead (second from left) and nurses Jo (left) and Amanda (right of centre).

Improving the care of older Australians in a bid to help them avoid hospital emergency departments will be the focus of a new project that federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says has been awarded funding from the Medical Research Future Fund.

Led by Flinders University in partnership with SA Health’s Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) and the SA Ambulance Service, the research will engage patients and the medical community to find the best way forward for treating older Australians, who make up almost a quarter of all ED visits.

In September 2021, SAHLN introduced a new model of urgent care for older people, known as CARE, designed to improve care for older patients by providing alternative treatment pathways to the ED when emergency care is not required.

Associate Professor Whitehead and his team have now been awarded over $1.1 million in MRFF funding to assess the outcome of this new model for patients, families and the health service, and inform service improvements.

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Helping older Australians avoid the Emergency Department

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