The new clinical head of Canberra Hospital's emergency department knows patient wait times will be up for scrutiny - from the public, media and politicians.
But Sam Scanlan wants to make sure he is never just focused on the numbers.
"There's always a balance between making sure that when we introduce change, we're doing it to make the patient journey better," he said.
"That we're not just doing it to make a time target."
Dr Scanlan this week took over the reins from the former clinical head of the department Greg Hollis.
He moves into the role as the hospital grapples with the challenges created by coronavirus and ongoing concerns around timeliness.
Canberra Hospital's emergency wait times have consistently scored poorly when compared with hospitals from across the country. The issue is likely to become a political football as the territory heads to an election in October.
Major increases in the hospital's emergency capacity are not likely to occur until the hospital expansion project, SPIRE, opens in 2024.
Until then, the hospital is focusing on new processes and how best to streamline services and patient flows.
I've got a very strong vested interest in making sure that the department is as good as it can be.
New Canberra Hospital ED head Sam Scanlan
Dr Scanlan, who was previously the deputy head of the department said part of his role was to shelter the rest of the clinical team from the external pressure to improve on targets, so they can get on with the job.
He says there are a number of reasons for the poor timeliness outcomes, including the fact that the ACT is a small jurisdiction.
"Those sort of things will mentally affect staff, particularly on the more junior staff ... we need to make sure we bring them on a journey with us and make sure they know what they're doing is really good," he said.
He said any changes in processes should be focused on better treatment outcomes for patients.
"It's really key for me that we don't engage in working purely towards a number," Dr Scanlan said.
"We want to make sure they're being seen and seen properly, that we're not rushing people through our system."
Dr Scanlan is a Canberra boy who returned to his home city after working in other parts of the country. He says he's in the job for the long haul.
He says attracting back doctors who did their training in Canberra or grew up in the area, was important for the hospital.
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"[The importance of] talent development and that retention of staff is enormous," Dr Scanlan said .
"While we want to retain people, it's also important that people go out and get experience in other places and then we want to try to bring them back.
"Previously people would often come to Canberra because their partners had a job here, or they were with defence ... where as now we're seeing more and more people choose to move to Canberra.
"For us we really need to harness that."
He says he has worked closely on the models of care for the SPIRE project and would continue to do so.
Dr Scanlan acknowledged any project of its nature would have budget limitations, but said a lot of work was happening to make sure it served the needs of the region.
"There's a lot of work going into that to make sure we've got the elements we really need to serve our community well into the future," he said.
"This is the department I'll be working in for the next 15 to 20 years.
"So I've got a very strong vested interest in making sure that the department is as good as it can be."
Dr Hollis says he's stepping down to do more clinical work for the Capital Region Retrieval Service and within the emergency department.
