A lack of government funding is resulting in public hospitals that are in logjam – with ambulances ramping, emergency departments at capacity, and long waits for essential surgery. There are just not enough beds or staff to deal with the demand.
This isn’t just a COVID-19 problem. And it isn’t new. The performance of our public hospitals has been declining for several years and after years of continued neglect, they are now at breaking point.
Our hospitals no longer have capacity to surge and meet increased demand – which means exhausted hospital staff must work harder and patients have their care delayed, sometimes for many months. But their care can’t wait any longer. Urgent action is needed now.
Our health system needs to be funded for the future, to fix the current logjams, and keep Australians healthy and out of hospitals.
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