BOOST TO SPECIALIST OUTPATIENT SERVICES IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS

The Beattie Government is boosting specialist outpatient services in Queensland public hospitals to make it easier for patients to access specialist outpatient care.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson said today the State Government will invest an additional $20 million each year into specialist outpatient services to treat an extra 20,000 patients a year and reduce the long waits people were experiencing.

“Its about ensuring those patients who have waited the longest and have the highest clinical priority will be seen first,” he said.

“Queensland Health is already doing an audit on the current status of people waiting for an appointment with a specialist.

“It will then follow-up by writing to each patient who has not yet had an appointment to check their current situation, see if their health status has changed since the initial referral, and if an appointment is still required.”

Mr Robertson said a comprehensive package of reform initiatives is being implemented in response to a report on specialist outpatient services prepared by a committee headed by Professor Ken Donald.

“I asked for a warts and all report on what we need to do as a government to improve patient access to, and delivery of, specialist outpatient services.

“Queensland public hospitals treated a record 3,504,305 patients through specialist outpatient departments in 2006-07 – up 7.2 per cent on the 3,270,304 patients treated the previous year.

“But the Donald Report shows that on March 1 2007 there were 143,940 patients waiting for an appointment with a specialist.

“Demand for specialist outpatient services had grown significantly in recent years as patients turn increasingly to the public hospital system for free specialist medical care.

“Many families are forced onto the public system because they can’t afford to see a private specialist because of the gap between what the doctor charges and what the patient gets back through Medicare.

“The demand for specialist outpatient services has also soared in the past 12 months with increased demand from a growing and ageing population.

“Administering the system has been very difficult. There is an ever increasing demand for services and many non urgent patients have been on the end of very long queues.

“Higher priority patients always take precedence and the report even found files where the likelihood of some patients seeing a specialist were marked ‘never’.

“That is unacceptable and is going to change.”

Mr Robertson today released the full report of the independent committee and the government’s response to its 11 recommendations.

Key elements of the Government’s response include:

• $20 million injection of funds targeted at clinics with long waits*
• Tighter management of outpatient services
• A new centralised data base to be in place by 1 July 2008 with interim date base solutions being developed in the meantime
• A check of the current status of people on the outpatient waiting list.
• Establishing a Specialist Outpatient Task Force and a Strategy Advisory Committee to advise on implementation of the reports recommendations
• Districts being required to publish realistic patient waiting times for new outpatient appointments from early 2008
• Queensland Health investigating the introduction of improved computerised booking system for outpatient services
• Each District preparing an Outpatients Development Plan by 30 September 2007.

Mr Robertson said the plans must target strategies to reduce long waits and include expansion of bulk-billing clinics.

“This problem didn’t happen overnight and it won’t be fixed overnight – but it will be fixed,” Mr Robertson said.

“Improvements in specialist outpatient services is the latest initiative in the Government’s $10 billion Health Action Plan that is delivering on the Government’s commitment to provide our hospitals with the staff and resources they need to meet the ever-increasing demands on our health system.

A copy of the Committee’s Report and the Government response are available at Queensland Health’s website on: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/

A breakdown on some of the State Government’s $20 million investment is attached.

The balance of the funds will be allocated to achieve other recommendations of the Specialist Outpatient Review Committee Report, including programs to be developed in conjunction with referring general practitioners

Funds have also been retained to support diversion of patients to private specialists where particularly long waits have been identified and where there is no further capacity in the public sector.