AMA report highlights emergency department failures in the ACT

The Australian Medical Association’s (AMA) report card released today has once again highlighted that the ACT is the worst performing jurisdiction when it comes to emergency department patients being seen under the ‘four-hour rule’.

Shadow Minister for Health and Deputy Opposition Leader Leanne Castley said it is unacceptable for only 47 per cent of emergency visits in the ACT being completed within the four hours.

“This is the lowest level of patients being seen within 4 hours in the ACT for the fifth year in a row and it is clear that the Ministers solutions to address these issues are simply not working,” Ms Castley said.

“It is time for the Minister and the Labor-Greens government to stop the self-congratulation and to start listening to the experts when it comes to the real concerns we have in the health system.

“If the Minister continues to ignore primary health care in the ACT then Canberrans will continue to present to our emergency departments which puts further pressure on the hospital system along with the hardworking doctors and nurses.”

The report also highlighted that the ACT was the worst in the country when it came to the number of planned surgery patients admitted on time.

“Elective surgery and outpatient waitlists have continued to decline despite the government promising Canberrans to restore these waitlists so that they meet clinically recommended timeframes.

“The Health Ministers’ track record is indicative of the fact that this government is either unwilling or incapable of fixing the problems in the health system that they have managed for more than a decade.

“The Labor-Greens government have failed to improve the two most critical areas of our public health system and their continuous broken promises and election commitments mean that sick Canberrans are spending more time on waitlists in the emergency department and surgery," Ms Castley concluded.