Despite the Brumby Government’s rhetoric and grandiose promises, Victorians are still waiting longer for treatment in emergency departments than ever before, said Shadow Minister for Health Helen Shardey.

The State of Our Hospitals annual report shows that Victorians are waiting an average of 22 minutes to be seen in emergency departments, an increase of three minutes from the last report. The report also reveals that there has been a decrease in the percentage of Victorians seen within the recommended time, from 77 per cent to 74 per cent.

“What I find staggering is that 19,050 sick Victorians were categorised as overdue/extended wait and were forced to wait for a prolonged period of time before receiving their elective surgery. Category 2 patients, who are semi-urgent, are also being forced to wait longer for treatment,” said Mrs Shardey.

“Victoria is still not meeting the 80 per cent benchmark for Category 2 patients treated within 90 days.

“Our public hospitals’ performance has dropped even further from the 2006 report which showed the percentage of patients treated in 90 days had dropped to 75 per cent.

“A year later and Victoria still has the lowest availability of public hospital beds with only 2.3 beds available per 1000 people, compared with the national average of 2.6.

“It appears that nothing much has changed.

“Victoria’s public patient admissions have dropped significantly from 239 admissions per 1000 weighted population in 2005/06 to 212 admissions per 1000 weighted population in this year’s report.

“This drop shows us that although Victoria’s population has grown and the number of emergency presentations has increased, fewer patients are being admitted, which is not good enough.

“Victorians deserve a health system that treats them in a timely manner and provides a hospital bed for them when they need it,” said Mrs Shardey.