$361 million strategy to slash outpatient wait lists

Queenslanders can look forward to better access to specialist outpatient appointments thanks to a Queensland-first initiative and a significant funding injection to tackle wait lists from the Palaszczuk Government.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Cameron Dick said the Specialist Outpatient Strategy had been developed to tackle specialist outpatient waiting lists and improve access to specialist services by 2020.

“This strategy marks a significant investment in the health of Queenslanders and will help ensure that patients receive improved access to specialist outpatient services,” he said.

“Specialist outpatient services are a vital element of the patient journey.

“They give patients access to medical specialists for diagnostic assessment, screening and treatment, allow for ongoing management of chronic and complex conditions and provide pre and post hospital care.

“A lot of excellent work has already been done over the past 18 months to slash outpatient wait lists.

“When our government came to office, 100,000 Queenslanders were waiting longer than the clinically recommended time for their first specialist outpatient appointment.

“That figure is now 58,436 (as at 30 June), or a reduction of more than 40 per cent, delivered at a time when demand has increased by 10 per cent across the system.

“That’s a strong achievement, but it’s just as important to ensure this figure continues to drop and those Queenslanders remaining on wait lists do not have to wait any longer than clinically recommended to get the appointments and treatment they need.”

Mr Dick said the Specialist Outpatient Strategy was a key component of the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to delivering the government’s 10-year vision for health, My Health, Queensland’s Future: Advancing Health 2026.

“As part of our commitment to improving the health of Queenslanders, we are investing in more specialist outpatient appointments and starting the work to fix the known problems in a key part of the patient journey; that being the process to progress from a GP clinic and referral to actually accessing specialist services,” he said.

“Our aspiration is that Queensland patients will spend less time waiting for a specialist appointment, have more control over their own healthcare and will experience a contemporary and connected healthcare system — not be left languishing on a wait list.”

The strategy outlines 11 key investment initiatives for implementation by 2020 to improve the outpatient journey for Queenslanders:

1. New clinical decision support tools to support GPs to make the best decisions by their patients
2. A statewide service directory to ensure GPs know where to send their patients
3. Electronic referral management systems to ensure patient referrals are sent to the right place first time
4. Invest in new models of care by initiating new ways of providing optimal care
5. More appointments across the public health system to ensure outpatients spend less time waiting
6. More telehealth specialist services to give Queenslanders more appointments closer to home
7. An online booking system to support patients to get appointments at a time suitable to them
8. Ensure elective surgery is available to, if required, get patients their elective surgery at the right time
9. Make review appointments available,if clinically required, to support patients in their journey
10. Improve GP access to hospital information so GPs know about their patient’s hospital treatment
11. Set clear and publicly available targets for specialist outpatient appointments to ensure patients know how long they will wait for treatment

Mr Dick said the Specialist Outpatient Strategy provided a targeted and realistic approach to reducing the number of people waiting longer than clinically recommended for their first specialist appointment.

“When we were elected, we promised to rebuild frontline healthcare services in Queensland and this very important strategy will help us deliver on that promise,” he said.

“Tackling the whole patient journey takes time but I am determined to take a balanced and genuine approach that fundamentally puts the needs and expectations of our patients at the heart of our health strategy in Queensland.”

The strategy is funded through a $361.2 million investment over four years, announced in the 2015-16 state budget.

Mr Dick said the announcement of the strategy followed two successful Waiting Time Summits he convened last year in a bid to develop real solutions to public hospital wait list issues.

“These summits were incredibly productive, bringing together a network of health professionals and consumer representatives, and this strategy is based on their solutions and ideas for improving our health care system,” he said.

To view the strategy visit https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/strategic-direction/improving-service/specialist-outpatient-strategy/default.asp

ENDS

Media contact:           Anika Hume 0439 253 815

Additional quotes for media use:

Melissa Fox, General Manager, Health Consumers Queensland:

• Health Consumers Queensland welcomed the inclusion of the consumer perspective in co-designing innovative solutions to accessing services in a timely manner. 
• We are pleased that the number of people waiting longer than clinically recommended for specialist outpatient appointments has now reduced by more than 40 per cent. 
• This new commitment of resources by the State Government will keep driving these numbers down. We look forward to all Queenslanders receiving the right care, in the right time and at the right place.

Dr Bernard Whitfield, Director Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, Logan Hospital (whose clinic has received funding as part of the strategy) and Royal Australian College of Surgeons former Queensland Chair:

• We had a two-prong strategy: an integrated system where audiology, speech pathology, physiotherapy and the ENT surgeons and their registrars are all co-located. The other factor was creating two GP registrar training positions to create a cohort of future General Practitioners with the appropriate skills and knowledge to provide care for their patients in their own practice, instead of referring all patients to the hospital.
• We are [now] on target to achieve no long-waits for adults by the end of this year, and this should be sustainable into the future. We’ve got a situation where there’s enough people in the multidisciplinary team, in a purpose designed facility to cope with the demand.

Prof Claire Jackson, Director of the Centre for Primary Care Reform and Research and Board Chair of the Brisbane North PHN:

• General practitioners and their teams, and Primary Health Networks welcome the energy and commitment that has gone into opportunities for enhanced access to our patients and communities to specialist advice.     
• Ongoing close cooperation between PHNs and HHS in improving access for Queenslanders to specialist services will be significantly strengthened by this initiative.

• We particularly welcome the opportunity to further develop eHealth initiatives which will allow Queenslanders , particularly those older and disabled, access to specialist advice close to home.