Healthy Canberra: Living long, living well, with care when you need it

Released 30/01/2019 - Joint media release

• Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Meegan Fitzharris -  Media Contact Claire Johnston
• Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Mick Gentleman - Media Contact James Webber
• Minister for Mental Health, Shane Rattenbury - Media Contact Lisa Wills

Today’s release of health data from the 2019 Report on Government Services shows ACT residents once again have Australia’s highest life expectancy, highest immunisation rates and fastest ambulance response times.

“We live in the best city in Australia and we can be Australia's healthiest city,” said Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Meegan Fitzharris.

“We’re investing in our health services and in preventive health programs to help Canberrans stay active, live longer and live well.

“Today’s report shows that people in the ACT continue to enjoy the longest life expectancy in Australia, a position we have maintained for more than a decade.

“However we know there is more we can do, and everyone including our leadership teams within ACT Health and Canberra Health Services and Calvary Public Hospital, our nurses, doctors, allied health professionals and the thousands of other staff who make up our public health system are working hard to deliver the healthcare Canberrans expect.

“In 2019 the ACT Government will continue to focus on improving waiting times and building the hospital infrastructure of the future,” Minister Fitzharris said.

Primary and community health

“It’s great to see the ACT community leading the nation in immunisation coverage across all age groups,” Minister Fitzharris said.

“We continue to lead the country in vaccination rates. In 2017-18 we were the only state or territory to achieve at least 95 per cent immunisation coverage for every vaccine available on the National Immunisation Program, for children aged 12 months to less than 15 months.

“Canberrans are being diligent about cancer screening too, with participation rates above the national average for breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening.

“We know Canberrans rely on General Practitioners to provide expert care and advice, so it’s great to see growth in the number of GPs working in the ACT, with 51 per cent more GPs in 2017-18 than there were in 2008-9.

“Patients value the quality of care from their GPs, with 92.7 per cent saying their GP always or often listened carefully, and 94.9 per cent saying they always or often showed respect.

“The ACT Government is focused on encouraging more GPs to bulk-bill through our grants program, which will see a new clinic in Coombs in the Molonglo Valley accommodating up to 10 bulk-billing GPs as well as bulk-billing psychologists, dietitians, nurses and other allied health care providers,”

“We will also open our fourth Walk-in Centre this year in Weston Creek to give Canberrans another option for their healthcare needs,” Minister Fitzharris said.

Ambulance services

“Once again, the ACT Ambulance Service has recorded the best response times in the country as demand continues to increase,” said acting Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Gordon Ramsay.

“The 30 extra paramedics and five new ambulances we have announced for the ACT Ambulance Service will further strengthen our frontline resources to meet increased demand as our city grows.

“Today’s report shows the ACT recorded the second highest percentage of Emergency Triple Zero calls answered within 10 seconds, outperforming the national average by 7.1 per cent.

“The Annual Ambulance Patient Satisfaction Survey results show our ambulance service is maintaining high levels of patient satisfaction at 97 per cent for another year,” Minister Ramsay said.

Public hospitals

“The emergency department (ED) and elective surgery data in ROGS is not new data, and was released late last year by the Australian institute of Health and Welfare. As I said at the time, we acknowledge our performance needs improvement on some indicators and we will continue to focus on ensuring patients get quality care in a timely manner,” Minister Fitzharris said.

“An increase in both the number of presentations to the ED and in the complexity of patient presentations are among the factors that contributed to ED performance in 2017-18.

“Since this data was reported we have made significant investment and changes within ACT Health to help address these challenges.

“The separation of ACT Health into two organisations last year has allowed Canberra Health Services (CHS) to better focus on health service delivery and getting our waiting times down. This will be a major focus of the organisation this year.

“New CHS CEO Bernadette McDonald is developing a strategy to improve access to timely care, one of her first priorities on joining CHS in October 2018. She is taking a whole of hospital approach to access and patient flow, reviewing processes in relation to the discharge stream in the ED, admission to wards in the hospital, and patient discharge from the inpatient hospital setting.

“We have seen an improvement in elective surgery performance in 2017-18, with 13,340 removals from the ACT public hospitals waiting list for elective surgery, compared with 12,826 in 2016-17. That is a 4 per cent increase, compared to a 0.1 per cent increase nationally.

“The ACT Government is investing $64.7 million over the next four years to improve access to emergency and elective surgical care and reduce waiting times.

“Our hospital system is also becoming more efficient, with the average cost per weighted separation (per patient discharge) in the ACT decreasing 18.3 per cent in five years, from $6,854 in 2012-13 to $5,598 in 2016-17.

Our average cost per acute ED presentation for admitted patients is also down by almost a third, from $1,443 in 2015-16 to $1,049 in the latest data from 2016-17.

“The ACT Government will continue to make health our number one priority in 2019,” said Minister Fitzharris.

Mental health management

“Today’s report highlights the progress we are making when it comes to mental health services, however we know there is more to do to reduce the impacts of mental illness across the Canberra community,” said Minister for Mental Health, Shane Rattenbury.

“With our recently redesigned adult community mental health services model of care up and running we are making it easier for people to access mental health services when in need.

“Access Mental Health is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing a single point of contact for advice, information on referrals, assessment and treatment. Canberrans can contact Access Mental Health on 1800 629 354.”

- Statement ends -

Meegan Fitzharris, MLA | Mick Gentleman, MLA | Shane Rattenbury, MLA | Media Releases

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