Report card shows hospitals in further decline and needing help
The AMA’s latest analysis of public hospitals again shows worsening performance, and highlights the need for health ministers to overhaul funding.
The 2023 edition of the AMA’s Public Hospital Report Card was released today, showing once again declining performance in Australia’s public hospitals with emergency department and essential surgery waiting times blowing out.
A key measure of hospital performance is the number of public hospital beds available for people aged over 65, which has dropped by more than half over the past 30 years, from 32.5 beds per 1,000 people to only 14.7.
Australian Medical Association President Professor Steve Robson said hospital performance was at its lowest ever, and today’s report card was clear evidence of the need to urgently overhaul the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) between states, territories and the federal government.
“The numbers paint a grim picture for the future of our public hospitals and with them our patients, if no action is taken. Let me be clear – this is a problem for all health ministers. Our current way of funding our hospitals isn’t lifting them out of logjam, and the current review of the NHRA is a chance to act,” Professor Robson said.
“The AMA has a plan for how we urgently need the NHRA to evolve, as part of our Clear the Hospital Logjam campaign, and we urge all health minister’s to consider it. We need rapid action so that ramping, escalating waitlists and patients suffering without access to care don’t wait any longer.”
