Somewhere out there is the truth. In between is the varying interpretations of health statistics.
According to Katy Gallagher the latest health numbers are great.
— 100% of the ACTs public hospitals were accredited and 100% of beds were accredited
— 100% of Category One Emergency Department presentations were treated on arrival at the ED;
— Almost 5,000 more Emergency Department services were delivered in 2009-10 compared with the previous year, with a total of almost 107,000 presentations – or an increase of 4.8% against a national increase of 2.3%;
— The shortest waiting times in the nation for Category Two Emergency Department patients. At 83% this is well above the national average of 78%;
— A 13 percent increase in outpatient services, jumping from 224,000 occasions of service in 2008-09 to 254,000 in 2009-10;
— An 3.5% increase in beds per 1,000 population despite a 0.9% decrease in available beds nationally;
— A 2 day decrease in median waiting time for elective surgery; and
— An 11% decrease in potentially preventable hospitalisations.
According to the Liberals’ Jeremy Hanson they’re terrible:
The release today of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ‘Australian Hospital Statistics 2009-10’, shows that we are waiting twice as long for elective surgery in the ACT as the rest of Australia and our emergency departments have the longest waiting times in Australia behind the Northern Territory.
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