AMA Public Hospital Report Card 2016 paints a poor picture for WA Hospitals
The AMA’s latest snapshot of the performance of Australia’s public hospitals points to an imminent crisis as the effects of Federal funding cuts make it harder for hospitals to meet growing patient demand and to reach significant performance benchmarks.
The AMA Public Hospital Report Card 2016, released yesterday, shows that, against key measures, the performance of our public hospitals is virtually stagnant, and even declining in key areas.
Federal AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, said the disappointing results are a direct consequence of reduced growth in the Commonwealth’s funding of public hospitals, and things will get much worse in coming years unless the Commonwealth reverses its drastic cuts from recent Budgets.
“The States and Territories are facing a public hospital funding ‘black hole’ from 2017 when growth in Federal funding slows to a trickle,” Professor Owler said.
AMA (WA) president Michael Gannon said WA’s performance was “nothing to boast about” and he expected waiting times to worsen with looming cuts to services.
“We’re seeing the Commonwealth gradually withdraw funding to hospitals, while the State is cutting staff and services,” Dr Gannon said.
“There are many statistics that reflect how well a system is performing but it’s fair to say these are some key measures, and WA is hardly perfect," he said.
For more on this report, and to view the AMA Public Hospital Report Card 2016, please click here.
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