Congratulations to the Waiting Around team for winning the WA Health Hackathon 2024 with their innovative approach to reducing emergency department waiting times.

Hosted by the Curtin-based WA Data Science Innovation Hub (WADSIH), the Hackathon saw technologists, software developers and other participants develop and pitch their exciting ideas, with a shortlist of finalists progressing to the Hackathon Finale on Thursday, 24 October.

The group’s winning innovation leveraged technology to improve the quality, efficiency and accessibility of healthcare services, by devising a simulation tool to predict emergency department waiting times and communicate this information to patients via a mobile phone app.

The team are now aiming to get their innovation trialled in an emergency department, to gather important feedback and insights from hospital staff and patients to determine how to practically implement the system.