Page 3109 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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(3) there are numerous projects that are either underway or in planning and design including the University of Canberra Public Hospital; and
(4) because of the HIP there are important services being delivered in a range of acute and community settings including the Walk-in Centres, the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children and the Community Health Centres.
I am pleased today to talk to this motion in my name to discuss how the health infrastructure program is assisting in delivering the world-class health system we have here in the ACT. This government is continuing to recognise the demand areas and prioritise improvements to make sure we deliver the right services into the future so that our community continues to stay healthy. This government is focused on making sure we invest in infrastructure for the future. We are making sure we are increasing access to services and we are making sure there is a focus on prevention to continue to improve our health and hospital services and address the growing demand.
Here in Canberra we have a fantastic health system. The hardworking staff provide a range of high quality services equating to over one million service episodes each year including, for example, care for inpatients in our hospitals, emergency departments, community care, medical imaging, pathology and outpatient clinics. Demand for services right across the system is increasing, including in outpatients, maternity and, of course, our two very busy emergency departments.
In 2014-15 ACT outpatient services reported with 563,221 non-admitted occasions of service. The 2014-15 preliminary figures suggest there were a total of 5,197 births at ACT public hospitals, an increase of four per cent when compared with the 4,999 births reported in 2013-14. In fact, last year’s figures represent the highest number of births within a single year for ACT Health and a 26 per cent increase—over 1,060 additional births—in the number of ACT public hospital births since 2009-10.
In 2014-15 ACT public hospital emergency departments had 129,963 presentations, a three per cent increase compared with 2013-14. This was the highest number of presentations recorded in a single year. The 129,963 result represents a 22 per cent increase in the number of presentations compared with the figure reported in 2009-10 and a six per cent increase compared to 2012-13 and 2013-14. There were 125,890 presentations to ACT public hospital emergency departments over 2013-14, the highest number of presentations ever. Over the last five years presentations to the ED have increased by 22 per cent, despite the ACT population growing by only nine per cent.
There are a range of reasons for the increasing demands on services, and they require a range of solutions, solutions we are delivering right across the health system. It is essential, however, that we have an understanding of what we are dealing with in terms of the reasons for the growing demand on all of our services so that we can plan for the future, demands we know we in Canberra are not immune from and will continue to increase.
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