Royal lags on surgery figures

THE Royal Hobart Hospital lags well behind the rest of the state for surgery admissions within clinically recommended times, new State Government statistics show.

The Royal has improved its performance on admissions but still trails the state average overall and in all three categories of urgency.

Figures released late yesterday on the State Government’s Health System Dashboard show 68 per cent of patients were seen within the clinically recommended time in December — up five points on the quarter before — compared to 77 per cent statewide.

Among the most urgent patients, recommended for treat- ment within 30 days, 74 per cent were admitted compared with 77 per cent statewide.

Most worryingly, just 54 per cent of the Royal’s category 2 patients — recommended to be treated within 90 days — were admitted compared with 71 per cent statewide.

That December figure was up 11 percentage points on the previous quarter.

The Launceston General Hospital bettered or equalled the state average in all categories in December, but had fallen slightly in three.

The Royal’s figures underline the challenge facing the re-elected Hodgman Government and returning Health Minister Michael Ferguson as the hospital’s redevelopment continues.

The Liberals promised a $757 million increase to health funding over six years during the recent election campaign.

Mr Ferguson pointed to improvements in median emergency response times for ambulances, down to 12.8 minutes from 13.2 minutes on the previous quarter.

Emergency department departures within four hours had improved from 63 per cent in the previous quarter to 68 per cent. More than 19,000 elective surgery procedures were performed in the 12 months to December.

The State Government has set a target of 90 per cent of patients to be treated within clinically recommended time frames and to leave EDs within four hours by 2022.

“This Government will continue to work hard to improve the health system in Tasmania,” Mr Ferguson said. “Our strong investment in 1300 additional staff, new hospital wards, almost 300 more beds and brand new services will ensure we can deliver better care for Tasmanians into the future.”