A new $118 million National Health Performance Authority will be created to monitor hospital performance, including error rates, following agreement between federal, state and territory health ministers in Melbourne last week.

 

The agreement was reached after the Victorian Government withdrew its opposition to the new body when Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon threatened to withhold health reform funding from Victoria.

 

Under the agreement, state governments will be given 45 days’ notice of performance results before they are publicly released, enabling state governments to check the accuracy of the reports and discuss them with health agencies.

 

The authority will report on a range of hospital management issues and outcomes including surgery and emergency department waiting times, the rate of infections and bed sores acquired in hospital and patient falls causing injuries.

 

The Australian Medical Association has criticised the terms of the agreement, saying that "providing the State and Territory Governments with the opportunity to review poor performance data that they have already provided to the Authority, before it is publicly released, undermines the robustness and transparency of the whole process."

 

The AMA said there had been no consultation with the medical profession on the Performance Accountability Framework endorsed by the Health Ministers.

 

“Health Ministers at all levels continue to make decisions about the health system in isolation from the people who actually provide the services – the local doctors. This must change.”