ACT Health releases new Quarterly Performance Report


Released 07/12/2018

As part of the ACT Government’s commitment to improving the information on health services available in the community, a new Quarterly Performance Report has been released today.

The Minister for Health and Wellbeing Meegan Fitzharris said the report covers the period of July to September 2018 and is the first report to be released since the System-wide Data Review was completed.

Reports will now be published each quarter, providing information on territory-wide performance of public health services. The quarterly report will continue to evolve over time. The report will be complemented by data that is available on the ACT Health website.

“Data reporting and management is integral to running an informed hospital and health care system that is accountable, transparent and responsive,” Minister Fitzharris said.

“It is key to the continual improvement of health services, ensuring we are providing better access to more timely care. It also serves as evidence about the quality of care provided to the community and is a testament to staff across the system.

“ACT Health has worked to ensure the report is more meaningful and relevant to the community than previous reports, with the Health Care Consumers Association (HCCA) providing advice on the report.

“This work to better understand what information is useful for patients and consumers is ongoing, and our quarterly reporting will continue to evolve as ACT Health continue to implement the recommendations of the System-wide data review.

“This will involve further engagement with the community to learn more about what information is useful for consumers and carers and what this looks like,” Minister Fitzharris said.

Minister Fitzharris said a number of improvements could be seen following on from the 2017-18 data outlined this week in the AIHW reports relating to Emergency Department and elective surgery waiting times.

“The Quarterly Report allows us to track our performance, and it’s good to see that in the first Quarterly Report for 2018-19 we have seen some improvements, particularly in elective surgery.

“We have seen the number of elective surgeries performed within clinically recommended timeframes improve, with 95% of Category 1 patients seen on time (within 30 days) in the first quarter of 2018-19 compared to 91% seen on time in 2017-18. We also saw 80% of Category 2 patients seen on time (within 90 days) in the first quarter of 2018-19 compared to 70% seen on time in 2017-18.

“However there are still areas we need to focus on, including our Category 3 and 4 patients in our emergency departments, so this is an area we know we need to look at more closely,” said Minister Fitzharris.

Dr Alan Thomas, president of the HCCA, welcomed the release of the new quarterly report saying that HCCA would continue to work with the ACT Health Directorate to expand the level of information on health care available to the public.

"We know that data is an important indicator of the quality and safety of our health system", Dr Thomas said.

"HCCA has had good preliminary discussions with ACT Health in the development of this new report and it is good to see the report has a focus on some of the most utilised health services in the ACT, including our Walk-in Centres and Emergency Departments. While some areas are performing well, the report shows that there is room for improvement in some sections of the health system."

"HCCA will work with ACT Health to ensure as quarterly reporting evolves, it will provide not only information on performance activity, but also information on outcomes for patients. This information will be even more useful for the community and will ensure that consumers and carers can use the data to make decisions about their own health care," Dr Thomas said.

Information reported in the July to September 2018 report provides the most up-to-date statistics about our health services. However, the real benefit of these reports is to look at them over the longer term and examine the trends across quarters and the impacts of seasonal demands on health services.

To view the July to September 2018 Quarterly Performance Report and the data that is available digitally visit: https://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/data-and-publications/reports/act-public-health-services-quarterly

In addition, ACT Health provides data for over 130 publicly reported performance indicators, which are published in a variety of different reports by multiple organisations.

A consolidated list of all publicly reported metrics can also be found on the ACT Health website at https://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/data-and-publications/published-data

- Statement ends -

Meegan Fitzharris, MLA | Media Releases

Media Contacts

Name Phone Mobile Email

Claire Johnston

(02) 6205 0022

0452 597 459

clairev.johnston@act.gov.au


«ACT Government Media Releases | «Minister Media Releases