The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has released a report card on our hospitals that has delivered an F for fail in the following areas:

Rosanna Capolingua of the AMA tell Sunrise the five areas of most concern:

1. Bed block
2. Emergency department
3. Elective surgery
4. Length of stay
5. Funding

The report compares the states for performance. For instance, a comparison of times emergency department take to see patients show New South Wales is best, followed by Victoria with the ACT in last place.

As for capacity, Rosanna says "our hospitals are running way over the recommended eighty-five per cent."

And it gets much worse, she says, "sometimes peaking at even 110% - that's when you get patients in hallways."

What of all the billions already spent on hospitals? "It's just not enough," Rosanna says.

The AMA has completed a report which identifies five major problems and solutions:

         1. BED BLOCK

The Problem

          The report found public hospital capacity has been slashed by 67% over the past 20 years.

          It says many hospitals run at well over 85% safe occupancy levels and many are pushed to 95% or more.

The Solution

• Our hospitals need 3,750 more beds along with necessary workforce and infrastructure to support them

         2. EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS

The Problem

• Only 65% of emergency department patients are seen within recommended times.

• The AMA says the target should be 80%.

The Solution

• The Australian Health Care Agreements must include a contract from all governments to measure and reduce the percentage of patients needing admission who are unable to get a bed in 8 hours.

         3. ELECTIVE SURGERY

The Problem

• There has been a slight improvement in the number of Aussies admitted for elective surgery within the recommended time but it's still too low.

• From 2006-07, 84% were admitted within recommended times compared with 81% the year before.

The Solution

• The AMA wants all Australian Governments to commit to 90% of patients being seen within recommended times.

         4. LENGTH OF STAY

The Problem

• Improvements in technology and medical care have reduced the lengths of stay for many patients over the past 20 years but these improvements are slowing down.

The Solution

• Governments shouldn't sacrifice spending on expensive technologies can actually save money through efficiency.

         5. FUNDING

The Problem

• Commonwealth funding for public hospitals has fallen from 50% in the 1980s to 40%.

The Solution

• An initial injection of $3 Billion with no off-setting in state contribution.

The AMA's report

Sunrise Hospital SOS - issue page