AMA hospital report card shows 'suboptimal' ACT public hospital performance

The Australian Medical Association's hospital report card has shown only 36 per cent of patients who need urgent treatment, in under 30 minutes, at an emergency department were seen on time last financial year in the territory.

Nearly half of all patients who presented to Canberra's emergency departments were there for longer than four hours. This was the highest of all states and territories.

Australian Medical Association ACT president Walter Abhayaratna said in the report's introduction the territory's performance defied the efforts of health workers and the system was geared against them.

"Another annual reminder of the suboptimal public hospital performance is not only disappointing to consumers in the Australian Capital Territory, it defies the efforts of healthcare providers in the ACT public hospitals who work tirelessly and often against a healthcare system that is geared to generate these less-than-ideal results year-on-year," he said.

Professor Abhayaratna said urgent reforms to the health system required collaboration between the federal and territory government.

"If we are unable to achieve this collaboration in the nation's capital, then where can we?" he said.

The report showed wait times for Canberrans needing planned surgery had slightly improved over the year, down from 49 days in 2020-21 to 43 days in 2021-22. However, the ACT was still higher than the national average of 40 days.

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The percentage of patients in the territory who had elective surgery within the recommended timeframe of 90 days was 56 per cent, which was down from 63 per cent in the year before.

Meanwhile, the territory's opposition has highlighted a cabinet document from more than 10 years ago.

The document showed the then-cabinet had agreed to meet the expected demand for health services and complete a redevelopment of Canberra Hospital by the 2021-22 year.

A redevelopment of Canberra Hospital is not expected to be finished until mid next-year.

"We know that health services are not able to meet capacity in areas such as endoscopies, emergency department and other outpatient specialties," ACT opposition health spokeswoman Leanne Castley said.

"Patients are languishing [while] waiting some of the longest times in the country and the government have known that services will be insufficient since 2007 and have not prioritised these projects."

The submission also said the government had planned a new sub-acute hospital in Canberra's north, which Ms Castley highlighted as being incomplete as the proposed northside hospital is undergoing a business case.

However, a sub-acute hospital does include a hospital which offers rehabilitation as a primary purpose. The University of Canberra Hospital in Bruce is a rehabilitation hospital and opened in 2018.

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