A NEW paper from Gippsland Primary Health Network (Gippsland PHN) highlights the scale and cost of potentially preventable hospitalisations in Gippsland and opportunities to improve health outcomes and reduce pressure on hospitals by strengthening access to primary care.
Health Insights: Primary care: Keeping People Out of Hospital shows that during the 2023-24 financial year, there was 12,895 potentially preventable hospitalisations among Gippsland residents, representing 7.4 per cent of all hospitalisations compared with 6.2 per cent nationally.
Preventable hospitalisations are estimated to cost Gippsland $127 million each year.
The report reinforces that timely, accessible primary care plays a critical role in preventing illness, managing chronic conditions and helping keep people out of emergency departments and hospital beds.
The report found Gippsland’s potentially preventable hospitalisation rate was 3343 per 100,000 people, compared with the national rate of 2617.
Chronic potentially preventable hospitalisations increased by 34 per cent between 2017-18 and 2023-24 (due to increasing rates of chronic disease).
There was 43,462 lower-urgency emergency department presentations for Gippsland residents in 2024-25, representing 33 per cent of all emergency department presentations.
Lower-urgency emergency department presentations decreased by 13 per cent between 2019-20 and 2024-25, but Gippsland’s rate remained higher than the national rate in 2023-24.
Since opening in 2023, Gippsland’s two Urgent Care Clinics have averaged about 27,000 total presentations per year to May 2026.
Around 60 per cent of Urgent Care Clinic patients reported they would otherwise have gone to an emergency department.
The report also identifies barriers to accessing primary care in Gippsland, including cost, long wait times, transport, limited or unaffordable local referral options, poor communication and a lack of information about existing services.
Opportunities to help keep people out of hospital include expanded after-hours GP services; better coordination between primary and acute care; integrated, multidisciplinary care models; care coordination for people with complex needs, and increased use of digital and virtual health solutions.
Gippsland PHN Chief Executive Amanda Proposch said the findings highlighted the scale of the opportunity to improve access to care and help people stay well in their communities.
“Nearly 12,900 potentially preventable hospitalisations occurred among Gippsland residents in just one year, at an estimated annual cost of $127 million. These figures reinforce why timely and accessible primary care is so important for our communities and our broader health system,” she said.
“We are seeing the important role of alternatives to emergency departments. Around 60 per cent of patients attending Gippsland’s Urgent Care Clinics reported they would otherwise have gone to an emergency department, demonstrating the value of giving people more options to access the right care in the right place at the right time.”
The paper acknowledges that not all lower-urgency emergency department visits and potentially preventable hospitalisations could be managed in primary care. Understanding local services and community needs can support better decision-making, service planning and care coordination.
The paper used local and national data, as well as input from Gippsland health professionals and people in the community, to better understand challenges affecting primary health care in the region and identify opportunities for action.
