Queensland health system leading the nation

Queenslanders are waiting less time for ambulances, on dental waiting lists and in emergency departments than ever before according to data released today.

Premier Campbell Newman said the results show Queensland is well on the way to having the best free public health system in the nation.

“Queensland’s health system has gone from one of the worst performing, to one of the best in the country in just two years,” Mr Newman said.

“This turnaround is due to the hard work of Queensland Health staff and the reforms driven by the Health Minister.

“Our emergency departments have been cited by the Australian Medical Association as Australia’s best.

“Gone are the days of long waits in emergency departments and ambulance ramping.

“In Brisbane’s northern suburbs, ambulance Code 1 response times have improved by more than a minute, and in an emergency, every second counts.

“Our ambulance service is setting the standard when it comes to pre-hospital patient care.

“More patients suffering from heart attacks are being treated by the roll-out of clot-busting drugs before they arrive to hospital.

“In our emergency departments, we now have 78 per cent of patients being treated within 4 hours, compared to 63 per cent just two years ago.

“This is not just about getting better performance from a health system that was a dysfunctional mess two years ago, it’s about healing people, reducing illness in the community, and ultimately saving lives.”

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the latest statistics show that while patient numbers in our emergency departments are growing faster than anywhere else in Australia, they continue to set a cracking pace when it comes to treating patients.

“Almost every health service in Queensland treated a greater number of patients within the recommended time than in the same period in 2012,” Mr Springborg said.

“Waiting times have been slashed, with the number of patients waiting any longer than the recommended clinical time dropping by more than half, from 6,485 in 2012 to just 2,842 in 2014.

“Queensland’s median wait time for surgery in the 2012-13 financial year was the shortest in Australia, with an average wait of 27 days compared to a national average of 36 days.

“We are treating more patients than ever before and the percentage of category one patients seen within 30 days has increased from 86 per cent to 93 per cent.

“This is a great outcome for all Queenslanders and demonstrates the strong plans put in place by this government are delivering real benefits.”

Mr Springborg said there is a similar success story to tell when it comes to dental health.

“Across the State, the number of Queenslanders waiting for two years or more on the general care dental waiting list is down from 61,405 in March last year to 1,784 in March this year,” he said.

“That means almost 60,000 extra people had a dental appointment in the last 12 or so months and are no longer suffering from toothaches and pain.”

Mr Springborg said while the figures showed remarkable improvements, there was still work to be done.

“A range of new infrastructure and clinical redesign programs are in place to help equip Hospital and Health Services with tools they need to keep improving,” he said.

“For example, the Sunshine Coast Public University Hospital will add significant new capacity in that region, and when the Cairns and Mackay redevelopments are fully completed, they too will have greater capacity to meet local health needs.

“Just this morning the Premier and I opened the newly-refurbished Ward 6B at Royal Brisbane Hospital, catering to new mums and their bubs.

“Building better hospital performance is about working together to create a healthier, stronger Queensland, and I thank Queensland Health staff and our private and not-for-profit partners in helping us to deliver.”

The Minister said in coming days communities could check the performance of their local health service when these latest statistics were advertised in major newspapers across the state.

[ENDS] 15 May 2014

Media Contact: Premier’s Office – Katherine Hornbuckle – 0402 862 351 Minister Springborg - Cameron Thompson – 0407 585 230

FAST FACTS:

ELECTIVE SURGERY

Category 1 – Urgent Surgery – 30 days

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Number of patients seen within four hours

DENTAL LONG WAITS

People on waiting list longer than 2 years