Page 3487 - Week 08 - Thursday, 18 August 2011
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report that depicts just how ACT public hospitals are performing in a range of key areas.
The report shows how we meet demand, the challenges that we have in ensuring timely and appropriate access to a broad range of services we offer, as well as examining the quality of care we deliver. The report is under continual review to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the community, as well as ensuring that an accurate reflection of the constantly changing health system is depicted in the report. In March this year Minister Gallagher agreed to review the quarterly performance report to address the Assembly’s concerns. It must be noted, however, that there is already a range of outcome measures already incorporated in the report.
The report already includes outcome measures such as access block. We know that if people are waiting too long in the emergency department for an appropriate in-patient bed then this can ultimately have a negative effect on their outcome. We report on the proportion of mental health clients followed up within seven days of discharge from a hospital, as well as the proportion that have completed outcome measures. The report also already includes quality measures such as the unplanned returns to the operating theatre within the same episode of care, as well as unplanned returns to hospital within 28 days. We apply this indicator to our mental health clients also.
The government reports on ACT immunisation rates, another marker for positive health outcomes, and there are even outcome measures incorporated into the reporting of the walk-in centre. We report the number of people who present to the walk-in centre and are required to be redirected to other health services, reflecting the outcome of each visit to the centre. Once a year, in the fourth quarter report and in the annual report, the government provides details on a range of outcome measures, including life expectancy, heart disease rates, diabetes rates and cervical screening rates.
I would also draw to the Assembly’s attention the existence of the Australian Capital Territory Chief Health Officer’s report. This report is provided and published biennially and covers a broad range of outcome measures, particularly in the area of population. For example, the report includes outcome measures such as morbidity and mortality rates, including life expectancy, the rate of notifiable conditions in the community, which includes rates of infectious diseases, trends in the health status of the ACT community, including rates of asthma, mental health and diabetes, as well as public health risks. Public health risks include the rates of smoking in our community, alcohol consumption, obesity, drug use and physical activity.
Having said this, the government does believe there is room for further work on outcome measures. There is development underway on a national level in terms of measuring patient outcomes and the ACT needs to tie in with these initiatives as they come to light. Some of the measures being developed nationally include improved patient safety and quality measures that will be reported nationally, including bloodstream infection and adverse events; patient experience measures, which will provide better information than just patient satisfaction rates, even though they are also important; and the full waiting time to care and for follow-up care when seeking health services, including waiting times to GPs and specialists prior to hospitalisation.
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