After three years of neglect, Victoria’s hospitals are underperforming in elective surgery and emergency care while the ambulance crisis continues, Western Victoria Jaala Pulford said.

“These figures show that Victoria’s health system is struggling to cope with the $826 million the Liberal Government has cut from our hospitals since coming to office,” she said

“The data also reveals that a quarter of a million people also waited for at least
four hours in emergency departments without receiving any treatment”.

“There are currently 10,000 more people waiting in pain for elective surgery that when the Liberals took office in 2010, which is now at 49,000 people.

“This is largely because Mr Napthine has failed to deliver his promise of 800 new beds, which has also resulted in people waiting longer for care.”

Ms Pulford said that the latest hospital performance figures, released on January 7 showed Wimmera Base hospital had also been affected.

The health data for the 2013 September quarter shows that: 

• The percentage of emergency department patients treated within time has dropped from 86% in September 2012 to 74% in September 2013;
• The number of ‘category 2’ patients, that is, patients to be treated within 10
  minutes of presenting had dropped under the state target of 80% – from 91% in
  2012 to 77% in 2013;
• The number of ‘category 3’ patients. Patients to be treated within 30 minutes of presentation, had also dropped under the state average of 75% – with a drop of 17% from 88% to 71%; and
• The number of patients who had to wait longer than 24 hours in an emergency department doubling from September 2012 to September 2013.

Ms Pulford noted that “our health system is in crisis under Denis Napthine – there is no denying that our hospitals are performing worse now than in 2010; and after having pointed the finger of blame at everyone else, perhaps he should now look at how his decisions are crippling our health system”.