The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) says the latest Healthcare Quarterly report from the New South Wales Bureau of Health Information (BHI) again underscores the urgent need for investment in preventive and primary health care to address increasing rates of chronic illness.
The BHI's April-June report shows the highest quarterly admitted patient episodes on record, at 515,245, up 3.8% from a year earlier. The figure of 242,284 same-day episodes was also a record high, up 5.9%.
"These soaring figures again illustrate the pressure our nursing staff and their colleagues are under in the hospital sector," said ACN Chief Executive Officer, Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN. "We are pleased that reduced ED wait times have been recorded as nurse-patient ratios roll out across NSW hospitals, and there has been investment in cutting overdue surgeries. But we urgently need to address the underlying issue of surging rates of chronic illness that are a key factor behind hospital admissions."
"The proportion of Australians living with at least one chronic condition has increased over recent decades. Chronic illnesses that are poorly managed lead to complicated hospital presentations," said Adjunct Professor Zeitz.
"Preventive medicine and better primary care are critical to addressing these rates and will ultimately have an effect on the stress on the hospital system. It was a point strongly made by Justice Richard Beasley in the Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding report, handed to the government in April.
"We look forward to the NSW Government releasing a formal detailed response to the Special Commission of Inquiry that includes more state investment in prevention and primary health."
ACN notes the Bureau's examination of Hospital in the Home (HITH) services by Local Health Districts, and welcomes its finding that there is potential to increase their uptake.
