Another MJA article this month is, The challenges of population ageing: accelerating demand for emergency ambulance services by older patients, 1995–2015. (MJA 2011; 194: 574–578). The authors, (Judy A. Lowthian et al) write that the transport of older patients by ambulance has a significant impact on acute hospital capacity because of high admission rates and long lengths of stay. Resultant pressure compromises access, quality of care and patient safety, with emergency department congestion and overcrowding reported regularly. This study concentrates on the impact to the ambulance services themselves of an ageing population.
About 13% of the population in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia are currently aged over 65 years. It is projected that this will increase to 25% over the next 25 years, with the proportion aged over 85 years rising from 1.6% to around 5%. The authors aimed to measure the growth in emergency road ambulance transportations in metropolitan Melbourne since 1995, the impact of population growth and ageing on these services, and to forecast demand for these services in 2015.
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