HOSPITAL STATISTICS

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (14:12): My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Will the minister update the house on the latest performance data for public hospital emergency departments and elective surgery waiting times?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:12): I thank the member for Taylor for the question. SA Health has recently finalised the 2012-13 performance reports for our public hospital emergency departments and elective surgery waiting times. The results are testament to the government's continued investment in hospital services and show an overall trend of better service times within our public hospitals.

Despite a 4.3 per cent increase in emergency department presentations at our major metropolitan hospitals, in 2012-13 there was a 1.5 percentage point improvement in presentations completed within four hours. Also, 90 per cent of patients presenting to an emergency department were seen within 90 minutes, the same as 2011-12.

For elective surgery waiting times, I am pleased to say for the first time ever there were no overdue patients waiting for surgery at the end of the financial year, which is our best ever result and compares to one for the previous year and 930 in 2007-08. Also, 94.2 per cent of patients were admitted for elective surgery within clinically recommended times, which is a 2 percentage point improvement compared with the previous year.

In 2012-13, 90 per cent of patients in South Australia were admitted for elective surgery within 182 days, a 5 per cent improvement on 2011-12. The national report for this data is scheduled to be released in October 2013; however, I expect that South Australia will continue to perform well in comparison to other states.

In 2011-12, South Australia ranked the best in the nation and 29 per cent below the national average for median waiting time to be seen at an emergency department. The median waiting time for elective surgery in South Australia in 2011-12 was 6 per cent better than the national average, and 90 per cent of patients were admitted for elective surgery within 191 days, 24 per cent better than the national average. On my visits to hospitals and SA health services, I have always been impressed by our highly skilled and dedicated staff who provide high quality care every day in our public health system. These results could not be achieved without their hard and diligent work.