A lack of government funding is resulting in public hospitals that are in logjam — with ambulances ramping, emergency departments at capacity, and long waits for essential surgery. There are just not enough beds or staff to deal with the demand.
This isn’t just a problem that existed during the COVID-19 pandemic. And it isn’t new. The performance of our public hospitals has been declining for several years and after years of continued neglect, they are now at breaking point.
Our hospitals no longer have capacity to surge and meet increased demand — which means exhausted hospital staff must work harder and patients have their care delayed, sometimes for many months. But their care can’t wait any longer. Urgent action is needed on a long-term, sustainable funding plan
Our health system needs to be funded for the future, to fix the current logjams, and keep Australians healthy and out of hospitals.
Ambulance Ramping Report Card 2025
Ambulance services are essential for the delivery of safe, high-quality, and timely care, providing critical emergency response services to stabilise and transfer patients to the hospital emergency department.
The Ambulance Ramping Report Card is the first to include five-year longitudinal comparisons across each state and territory.
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The AMA is shining a light on Australia's hospital performance
Australia's hospitals are under more pressure than ever. The AMA Public Hospital Report Card provides an easy-to-understand snapshot of public hospital performance in your state or territory.
Read reportAMA funding solution to our hospital crisis
The AMA's detailed costed plan for our public hospitals focussed on four key areas — improving performance, expanding capacity, addressing avoidable admissions and increasing funding. Read about how we’ve done it.
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