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HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DATA TO BE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IN BAILLIEU GOVT OVERHAUL
A Baillieu Coalition Government will overhaul access to information about Victorian hospitals by requiring data on the performance of our public hospital emergency departments (EDs) to be made publicly accessible online in real time. For the first time ever Victorians will be able to monitor from their homes how many people are waiting in the ED of their local hospital, current waiting times, and whether ambulances are being accepted or sent away from the hospital. Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition Leader Ted Baillieu said Victorians deserved to know the truth about their hospitals and should be able to compare the performance of different EDs. “The Brumby Government’s record of cover-up and manipulation of hospital waiting lists means it cannot be trusted to tell Victorians the truth about our hospitals,” Mr Baillieu said. “Last year the Auditor-General found that important data used to assess hospital performance, allocate funds, and report to government and the public on ED performance were flawed because of the Brumby Government’s data manipulation. “A Baillieu Government will end the cover-up and manipulation and be open and accountable with Victorians by making key performance data for emergency departments available to the public via a website. “Hospital EDs help vulnerable Victorians facing critical health risks, so ED performance is critical to patient confidence and all Victorians. “Our overhaul of reporting and transparency means Victorians will be able to view and assess for themselves the performance of their local hospital ED and hospital EDs across the state, which will inform their personal health decisions,” Mr Baillieu said. The website will make available for the first time key hospital performance data in real time including: Mr Baillieu said other states such as Western Australia had already introduced such websites – see http://www.health.wa.gov.au/emergencyactivity/home/ – and there was no reason that Victorians should not benefit from such transparency. The website would be fully operational by June 2011 with an initial budgetary commitment of $4 million over four years. The website would be administered by the Department of Health with daily data updates in addition to real time information such as whether the hospital was on by pass.. “It’s time to end the hiding of key statistics and important information about the performance of our public hospital emergency departments which is par for the course under John Brumby,” Mr Baillieu said. The Auditor-General’s Access to Public Hospitals: Measuring Performance report in April 2009 stated that: ‘Open and transparent reporting is fundamental to making a fair assessment of performance and accountability’ but also pointed out that the Brumby Government’s ‘method chosen for presenting performance over time against the emergency access indicators [in the Your Hospitals report] does not provide the reader with a readily accessible view of performance trends’. The Auditor-General also found ‘Given that access indicators are a core part of the accountability framework under which hospitals operate, it is most concerning that the audit found fundamental flaws both with data accuracy and the rigour of data capture processes…Unfortunately, it is one of the findings of this audit that the reliability of access performance data by public hospitals cannot be assured…Your Hospitals is also limited in that it excludes...the indicator measuring waits of more than 24 hours in the emergency department. These indicators report against experiences the public can readily understand and are useful in presenting a comprehensive picture of health system performance’. In addition, the Brumby Government has never declared ambulance ramping data, with the only available data being released by the Ambulance Employees Union and widespread reports of ambulance ramping being swept under the carpet by John Brumby and Health Minister Daniel Andrews. The Brumby Government has also refused to release Hospital Early Warning System data because it would be embarrassing for Labor, with the only HEWs data in the public domain included in the Auditor-General’s May 2004 report entitled Managing emergency demand in public hospitals and information recently provided by Ambulance Victoria to the Upper House health inquiry. The Coalition plan will improve measurement of access to emergency care by ambulances as recommended in the Auditor General’s report, which noted: ’The ability of patients, transported by ambulance, to access the most appropriate hospital quickly can be a matter of life or death’. The Coalition plan will reflect the Auditor-General’s call to ’address the need to measure hospital performance in both their ability to be available to ambulance arrivals, as well as the timeliness with which they accept patients arrived by ambulance’. The Council of Australian Governments has called for greater transparency in health system reporting and accountability and the Coalition’s plan would significantly improve the openness and accountability of Victoria’s emergency departments and their responsiveness to the Victorian community. “Our plan will improve patient knowledge and choice and provide greater accountability and integrity and is an important first step in restoring integrity to the Victorian health system after years of Labor spin and deception. “This website and the data available from it form part of a serious commitment by the Coalition to improve the integrity, reliability and accuracy of health information and data accessible by the Victorian public. “Victorian taxpayers deserve the truth about our hospitals instead of more deception from a self-serving manipulative Labor Government,” Mr Baillieu said. Victoria's Hospitals in a Sea of Red The Brumby Government is failing to paint the true picture of Victoria’s health system, by omitting figures from its assessment of the health-related annual reports tabled today, Shadow Minister for Health Helen Shardey said today. “The real story is a far cry from the fluff and spin produced by the Brumby Labor Government, Mrs Shardey said. “The deluge of annual reports shows that 13 out of Victoria’s 21 major hospitals are drowning in a sea of red. “This figure is up from the 9 hospitals which recorded deficits last financial year. Analysis shows that the Royal Children’s Hospital is more than $26 million in the red. Royal Women’s Hospital, Peter MacCallum and Northern Health are also floundering. “The Women’s did not report its performance figures for the second consecutive reporting period in yesterday’s Your Hospitals report, but today’s annual report shows it is $21 million in deficit. “Peter Mac is also in trouble to the tune of $35.5 million, a whopping $32.3 million more than last financial year when their deficit was only $1.2 million. “It comes as no surprise that Northern Health is in deficit as well. It has reported a net operating loss of $15.6 million, more than $3 million more in the red than last year when their deficit was $12.5 million. “Newspapers have already reported that Northern Health has been forced to close acute beds in an attempt to save money. “The Brumby Government’s rhetoric claiming that Victoria’s hospitals are in surplus is far from reality and an analysis of these 21 major hospitals paints a very different picture. The net combined outcome is a deficit of $53.2 million, with total deficits of $132.8 million against surpluses of only $79.6 million. These figures will come as no surprise to the thousands of Victorians languishing on elective surgery waiting lists and waiting for their outpatient’s appointment. Further analysis of these annual reports also indicates disturbingly that 19 out of Victoria’s 21 major hospitals have current liabilities greater than their current assets, five hospitals only have enough cash to pay average operational expenses for seven days and a further ten have enough cash for operations for only 30 days. The Opposition has also identified that public health entities desperate for funding are continuing to put taxpayer funds into questionable investments. For example: “It is time the Brumby Government fulfilled its responsibility to protect taxpayer funds that should be used to provide basic health services to all Victorians. “The government’s failure to adequately manage our health system is leaving too many Victorians vulnerable,” Mrs Shardey said.
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