RECORD emergency patient numbers and a rapid lengthening of the surgery waiting list are placing Western Hospital in Footscray under unprecedented pressure, new figures show.
The December quarter Victorian Health Services Performance Report, released by the state government last week, reveals there were 11,251 patients admitted to Western Hospital in the December quarter, up from 11,098 one year earlier.
Williamstown Hospital treated 2697 patients, down from 3156.
Footscray’s emergency department presentations jumped from 8860 to 9301, with a drop at Williamstown from 5225 to 4922.
Footscray cut average emergency treatment waiting time and the number of patients treated within benchmark times, but Williamstown slipped on both counts.
Footscray’s elective surgery waiting list moved up from 1226 to 1293 as Williamstown’s dropped from 557 to 508.
The statewide elective surgery waiting list blew out from 43,173 to 47,760, fuelling tit-for-tat allegations between the state and federal governments over whose funding cuts hurt most.
Victorian Health Minister David Davis said the report showed Western Hospital was performing well in key areas, but federal cuts were the major cause for the elective surgery waiting lists blowout. “Even though Victoria’s hospitals are working hard, they are unable to cope with such a large reduction in national partnership agreement funding, and it’s showing up in elective surgery activity,” he said.
Western Health chief executive Alex Cockram last week welcomed the reversal of the $6.46 million federal cuts to the west but warned there might still be adverse impacts.
But federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data proved the state government was failing to properly manage Victorian hospitals before the recent hospital funding dispute.
“This data proves what we’ve been saying all along: Ted Baillieu’s campaign against the Commonwealth on health funding was a smokescreen for his own government’s failures and health cuts of $616 million.”
Williamstown MP Wade Noonan accused the government of trying to keep the worsening state of the public health system a secret by refusing to release the Western Health 2012-13 statement of priorities. “It’s time for the Baillieu government to end the secrecy and release all statement of priorities signed by Mr Davis and the chairs of each Victorian hospital board, which includes Western Health documents.”
