THE Opposition has given the Northern Hospital a damning “report card” on its latest performance figures.
Opposition parliamentary secretary for health Wade Noonan said the hospital had failed to deliver on many levels, especially elective surgery and transfers from ambulances to the emergency department.
“The Northern Hospital has gone backwards under (Premier Ted)Baillieu, with patients suffering severe pain and disability, having to wait up to 30 days longer for elective surgery procedures,” Mr Noonan said.
He said the state Health Department’s health services performance figures for the January-March quarter showed that the Northern Hospital had failed to meet the Health Department’s statewide benchmarks.
The hospital treated 57 per cent of semi-urgent or category two elective surgery patients within 90 days. The state target was 80 per cent.
It treated 77 per cent of non-urgent or category three elective surgery patients within a year, but the benchmark was 90 per cent. It also scored 77 per cent for transferring patients from ambulances to emergency but the state average was 90 per cent. Only 67 per cent of emergency patients at the Northern were transferred to hospital beds within eight hours, which again failed to meet the 80 per cent target.
Mr Noonan said that 1530 urgent elective surgery patients during the January-March quarter were waiting 83 days for operations, up from 53 days the previous quarter.
“With more than $600 million cut from the health budget by the Baillieu Government since coming to office, it is little wonder why the health system in this state is hurting,” he said.
