AMA Campaigns to Ease the Squeeze on Public Hospitals
The Australian Medical Association today launched a campaign to ease the squeeze on public hospital funding.
AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said that public hospitals were under severe financial strain across the country.
"Health expenditure has been relatively static despite an ageing population. But even at 8.5% of GDP, it is still way below the level needed to sustain a first rate public hospital system," Dr Phelps said.
"Funding of our public hospitals will be a key issue in the lead up to the next Federal election. There is growing public demand for better funding. Political parties will ignore it at their own risk.
"The problems include:
reduced access to public hospitals for all but the most urgent categories of care;
increased rationing of care;
unacceptable waiting times;
inadequate and outdated infrastructure;
impossible demands on staff to produce more services with fewer resources; and
education and medical research in teaching hospitals beginning to suffer.
"The entire Australian health financing and delivery system is under pressure.
"Utilisation of hospital services has continued to grow nationally at 4.5%, the complexity of medical services continues to increase. Patients want to have the benefits of access to new health technologies.
"Federal and state funding for public hospitals is increasing at barely 4% a year while increases of more than 8% a year is needed as a catch-up and to meet patient expectations of the system in the future.
"The AMA is calling for a national summit on public hospital funding in the near future to push for bipartisan solutions including resolution about the level of funding needed for public hospitals, an end to the cost-shifting farce and ways of encouraging further participation in private cover to ease the pressure on the public system," Dr Phelps said.