New QAS pathway adds to PODDS success

CNC Neita Furber, part of PODDS at Redcliffe

Building on the success of its rapid access clinic for post-surgical patients, Redcliffe Hospital has added a new Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) pathway that bypasses the busy emergency department entirely.

Neita Furber is a Clinical Nurse Consultant with the Post Operative Discharge Support Service (PODDS) at Redcliffe, which has now helped more than 3,200 patients since it went live in July 2024, reducing emergency department presentations of post-surgical patients from 20 per cent down to 5 per cent.

Neita said the PODDS clinic at Redcliffe uses a model of care designed to help post-surgical patients access post-operative advice conveniently and as quickly as possible.

“Post-operative pain, wound concerns and advice about dressings are some of the most common reasons patients access our service,” Neita said.

“Patients, or their carers, are empowered to contact us regardless how small the concern is that is related to a surgery. We triage the patient over the phone, providing either a telehealth or face-to-face review in our rapid access clinic for a more enhanced assessment.

“Sometimes all that’s needed is advice and reassurance – other times we’ll arrange a surgical review with a registrar from that specialty, organise blood tests and medical imaging, or even admit the patient to a ward directly through the clinic.”

Neita says the QAS pathway allows paramedics to bring patients directly to the rapid access clinic without needing to enter the emergency department.

“Under this pathway, the patient is assessed by QAS paramedics, and if they meet the criteria, they can be brought directly to the hospital’s patient transit lounge, instead of the emergency department,” she said.

“The PODDS nurse meets the patient in the patient transit lounge and escorts them to the rapid access clinic for review.

“This reduces their waiting time to be seen, and if a surgical review is needed that happens, on average, within 15 minutes.”

Neita said that while not every patient will be suitable for the QAS pathway, the traditional PODDS pathway is still an excellent service, offering patients a better experience than waiting in the emergency department.

She said that patient feedback from patients had been encouraging too, with high patient satisfaction recorded for the service with a rating of 4.73 out of five.