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June 13th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda AAP
CANBERRA, June 14 AAP – A patients’ group has questioned what state and territory governments are doing with increased commonwealth hospital funding after it was revealed elective surgery waiting times have blown out.
The latest COAG Reform Council report examining Australia’s healthcare system shows the national median waiting time for elective surgery increased from 34 to 36 days in the three years to 2010/11.
The national figure is up because the biggest states are going backwards.
Waiting times increased by 20.5 per cent in NSW hospitals from 39 to 47 days.
The proportional rise in Victoria was 9.1 per cent (to 36 days) while in Queensland it was 7.4 per cent (to 29 days).
Tasmania and the ACT also went backwards, both by 5.6 per cent, however elective surgery waiting times improved in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
“In spite of increased commonwealth funding specifically to reduce elective surgery waiting times the very opposite has happened,” Consumers Health Forum chief executive Carol Bennett said in a statement.
“Consumers have a right to know what each state and territory has done with this extra money and how long before we see the benefits of the additional funding.”
In the country’s emergency departments the percentage of patients being seen on time remained stable. The figure was 67 per cent in 2007/08 and 68 per cent in 2010/11.
NSW has consistently performed well when it comes to emergency care, while South Australia and the NT were the big improvers over the three-year period.
Reform council executive director Michael Frost warned people not to focus solely on the negatives.
“The things we are drawing out are problems to be addressed within a very good health system overall,” he told AAP.
One of the biggest problems remains unequal access and outcomes for indigenous Australians, rural communities and the poor, Mr Frost said.
The proportion of people who delayed or didn’t see a GP due to cost has increased from 6.4 per cent in 2009/10 to 8.7 per cent in 2010/11.
More than a quarter of people are facing financial barriers when it comes to seeing a dentist. That figure jumps to 30 per cent outside major cities.
The number of dentists per 100,000 people in major cities is double the number in outer regional areas and almost triple that in remote Australia, a separate report released on Thursday states.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study shows an overall increase in the supply of dentists across the country in the 10 years to 2009 – from 47 to 54 practising dentists per 100,000 people.
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