Rudd promises to halve waiting times

AUSTRALIANS would wait no more than four hours for medical attention in hospital emergency departments under an ambitious bid by the federal government to halve existing waiting periods.

AUSTRALIANS would wait no more than four hours for medical attention in hospital emergency departments under an ambitious bid by the federal government to halve existing waiting periods.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will today announce a $500 million injection for emergency departments, but only if the states sign up to his health reform plan, News Ltd and Fairfax newspapers say.

Under the new target, public hospitals will be required to ensure people are admitted to hospital, referred for follow-up treatment or treated and discharged within four hours.

Government figures show about 600,000 people each year - or one in three patients - wait for more than eight hours in emergency departments before being seen.

Two-thirds wait for longer than is clinically recommended before they receive medical attention.

The $500 million will pay for an extra 1.2 million consultations. Hospitals that reach or exceed the new four-hour target will receive reward payments. Doctors say the reason is not a lack of staff but a shortage of available hospital beds.

Mr Rudd will meet state and territory leaders at a Council of Australian Governments meeting on April 19 in a showdown over his health reform plan, which would lead to the Commonwealth becoming the main funder of hospitals and the only funder of outpatient services.

The Commonwealth would lift its share of hospital funding from an existing 40 per cent to 60 per cent.

But the states would lose one-third of their revenue from the GST. That would go to local health networks that would be responsible for the day-to-day running of hospitals.

Mr Rudd is insisting the states give him an answer on his plan at the COAG meeting. If they knock it back, he has threatened to hold a referendum on the issue either at or before the next federal election.