Hospitals at a glance
Recent releases
Australian hospital statistics 2006-07 (30 May 2008) (media release and publication)
Mental health services in Australia 2004-05 (27 April 2007) (media release and publication)
Report on the evaluation of the National Minimum Data Set for Public Hospital Establishments (19 February 2007) (publication)
Popular titles
 Australia's health 2008 |
 Australia's welfare 2007 |
Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07 provides a twelfth year of comprehensive annual statistical reporting by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on the characteristics and activity of Australian hospitals. This section provides a summary of the report's information on Australian hospitals. It illustrates changes in hospital activity over time and some differences between hospitals in the public and private sectors.
Hospitals included in this report include public acute care and psychiatric hospitals, private free-standing day hospital facilities and other private hospitals (including psychiatric hospitals).
- Admitted patient separations and patient days
- Length of stay
- International comparisons
- Age group and sex
- Persons identifying as Indigenous
- Remoteness Areas
- Overall type of care
- Conditions treated
- Selected potentially preventable hospitalisations
- Procedures undertaken
- Waiting times for elective surgery in public hospitals
- Emergency department care in public hospitals
- Australian hospitals
- Available beds
- Staff in Australian public hospitals
- Recurrent expenditure on public hospitals
- Recurrent expenditure (cost) for providing care in public hospitals
Admitted patient separations and patient days
Separations and patient days provide useful ways to measure how many admitted patients are treated in hospitals. See Chapter 2 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
Changes between 2005-06 and 2006-07
- There were 7,602,917 separations and 24,924,565 patient days in 2006-07, compared with 7,311,983 separations and 24,330,653 patient days in 2005-06.
- Between 2005-06 and 2006-07, separations increased by 3.3% for public acute hospitals, and by 5.1% for private hospitals after adjusting for change in reporting arrangements.
- With the same adjustments, the number of patient days increased by 2.1% in public acute hospitals and by 3.6% in private hospitals.
- Between 2005-06 and 2006-07 (with the same adjustments) the number of same day separations increased by 3.9% in public acute hospitals and by 6.1% in private hospitals and overnight separations increased by 2.7% and 3.3% respectively.
- Separations increased by 2.7% for public patients and by 5.5% for private patients, and separations for which private health insurance was reported as the funding source increased by 7.2%. See Chapter 7 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
Changes between 1997-98 and 2006-07
- Between 1997-98 and 2006-07, separations from all hospitals increased by 36.7% (not adjusted for coverage change). Separations increased by 23.9% in public acute hospitals and by 64.1% in private hospitals (including free-standing day hospital facilities).
- Over the same period, the number of patient days in public acute hospitals increased by 10.2%, while for private hospitals they increased markedly (up by 24.9%).
- Separations per 1,000 population increased by 6.8% for public acute hospitals and by 42.1% for private hospitals between 1997-98 and 2006-07 (Figure 1).
- Over the same period, patient days per 1,000 population decreased by 7.6% for public acute hospitals and increased by 2.4% for private hospitals (Figure 2).
- For stand alone public psychiatric hospitals, separations per 1,000 population fell by 39.3% between 1997-98 and 2006-07 and there was a 58.5% fall in patient days per 1,000 population. This accompanied a fall in the number of public psychiatric hospitals (see below).
- In 1997-98, 67.4% of separations and 67.5% of patient days in acute care hospitals were in public acute hospitals. By 2006-07, these percentages had fallen to 61.1%, while the proportion patient days was stable (67.3%).
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Length of stay
The proportion of separations that are same day is increasing, and the average length of stay in hospitals is decreasing. See Chapter 2 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- The proportion of same day separations increased between 1997-98 (46.3%) and 2006-07 (55.8%).
- The number of same day separations increased by 4.9% between 2005-06 and 2006-07, compared with a 2.8% increase in overnight separations. Same day separations, adjusted for changes in reporting, increased by 4.0% in public hospitals and by 6.1% in private hospitals.
- The average length of stay in hospitals was 3.3 days in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
- The average length of stay decreased 19.1% between 1997-98 and 2006-07, from 4.1 days to 3.3 days. The average length of private hospital stays decreased to 2.5 days, and that for public acute hospital stays decreased to 3.6 days (Figure 3).
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- Average lengths of stay have remained relatively constant over this period for patients staying at least one night. They were 6.2 days in public acute hospitals and 5.4 days in private hospitals in 2006-07 (Figure 4).
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International comparisons
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The number of overnight separations per 1,000 population in
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- Comparability of international separation rates is likely to be affected by differences in definitions of hospitals and in admission practices.
Age group and sex
Females accounted for more separations than did males. See Chapter 8 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- In 2006-07, there were 4,020,928 separations for females compared with 3,581,515 separations for males, 52.9% and 47.1% of separations respectively.
- Overall, in 2006-07, there were 383.5 separations per 1,000 population for females, compared with 345.5 separations per 1,000 population for males (Figure 6).
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- The differences in the separation rates for males and females varied between age groups. There were more separations per 1,000 population for females than for males in all age groups between 15 to 54 years (which include child-bearing ages for women). Males had higher separation rates than females in all age groups less than 15 years old and 55 years and over.
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Separations for both males and females
increased between 2002-03 and 2006-07. These increases were very marked for both females and males
aged 55 and over. Most notably, separations increased by 25.3% for females
aged 55-64 years and by 43.7% for males aged 85 years and over (Figure
7).
- Separations of persons aged 1-4 years decreased over this period for both males and females.
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- The average length of stay did not vary greatly between males and females, both being around 3.3 days for both. Females aged either less than 15 years or 65 years and over had longer average lengths of stay than males in those age groups (Figure 8).
Persons identifying as Indigenous
Indigenous people, that is, those identifying as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin, had higher separation rates in 2006-07 than other persons. See Chapter 8 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- In 2006-07, the crude separation rate for Indigenous persons (530.7 per 1,000 population) was about one and a half the rate for other Australians (364.2per 1,000 population). Rates for Indigenous Australians were higher for all age groups, other than 75 years and over (Figure 9).
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Notes: 1. Other includes both non-Indigenous and Not stated/inadequately described separations. 2. This figure includes data only for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and public hospitals in the Northern Territory. |
Remoteness Areas
Remoteness Area categories divide Australia into areas depending on distances from population centres. See Chapter 8 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- The number of separations per 1,000
population varied by Remoteness Area. Overall, separation rates were highest
in Very Remote and lowest in Inner Regional areas.
- Separation rates for public hospitals were highest for patients living in Very Remote areas (454.1 separations per 1,000 population) and lowest for patients living in Major Cities (204.0 separations per 1,000 population).
- Separation rates for private hospitals were highest for patients living in Major Cities (152.3 separations per 1,000 population) and lowest for patients living in Very Remote areas (50.4 separations per 1,000 population).
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- Overall, remote areas had higher separation rates for public hospitals than Major Cities and Regional Areas. In contrast, Major Cities had higher separation rates for private hospitals than regional and remote areas.
Overall type of care
Separations are allocated to Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups (AR-DRGs) which can be used to describe whether the overall care was medical, surgical or other. Other care includes endoscopies. See Chapter 12 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- In public hospitals, separations with Medical AR-DRGs increased by 17.0% between 2002-03 and 2006-07. Separations with Surgical AR-DRGs increased by 8.7% and Other AR-DRGs increased by 6.3% in the same period (Figure 11).
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- In
private hospitals, separations with
Medical
AR-DRGs increased by
16.9%,
those with
Surgical
AR-DRGs increased by
12.9% and those with
Other
AR-DRGs
increased by
13.2% (Figure 12).
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Conditions treated
The conditions (diseases or injuries and poisonings) treated in hospitals are classified using the International statistical classification of disease and related health problems, 10th revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM). Using this classification, each separation is allocated a principal diagnosis which is the diagnosis established after study to be chiefly responsible for occasioning the patient's episode of care. See Chapter 9 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- Overall, 37.2% of separations in 2006-07 had a principal diagnosis that derived from one of five ICD-10-AM chapters: Diseases of the digestive system; Neoplasms; Diseases of the circulatory system; Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium; and Injury and poisoning.
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Note: Columns with two categories of principal diagnosis are indicated using two shadings. |
- The National Health Priority Areas (NHPAs) initiatives focus on chronic diseases that have a significant health burden. They are: asthma, cancer control, cardiovascular health, diabetes, injury prevention and control, mental health, and arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.
- In 2006-07 the NHPAs were represented by some high-volume diagnoses. There were 173,410 separations with a principal diagnosis of fracture; 36,588 separations with a principal diagnosis of asthma and 54,878 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); 89,212 separations with a principal diagnosis of arthritis; 75,408 separations with a principal diagnosis of angina pectoris; and 77,827 separations with a principal diagnosis of diabetes (Figure 13).
Selected potentially preventable hospitalisations
The selected potentially preventable hospitalisations presented in this report are hospitalisations thought to be avoidable if timely and adequate non-hospital care is provided. Both acute and chronic conditions are represented. Rates for potentially preventable hospitalisations are potential indicators of the effectiveness of non-hospital care. See Chapter 4 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- Overall, the selected potentially preventable hospitalisations represented 9.2% of all separations in 2006-07.
- Overall, the number of separations per 1,000 population for the selected potentially preventable hospitalisations increased by an average of 2.6% per year between 2002-03 and 2006-07.
- Some diseases can be prevented by vaccination. The number of separations per 1,000 population for these diseases decreased an average of 7.2% per year between 2002-03 and 2006-07.
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- For chronic conditions, excluding diabetes, potentially preventable hospitalisations per 1,000 population rose with increasing remoteness ranging from 8.1 in Major Cities to 5.6 in Very Remote regions (Figure 14).
- For diabetes complications, potentially preventable hospitalisations per 1,000 population were markedly higher in Remote and Very Remote areas than in other areas.
- For acute conditions, potentially preventable hospitalisations rosed with increasing remoteness from 12.3 in Major Cities to 27.1 in regions classed as Very Remote.
Procedures undertaken
A procedure can be surgical or non-surgical and can treat or diagnose a condition or be of a patient support nature such as anaesthesia. See Chapter 10 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- One or more procedures were reported for 82.0% of the separations for Australian hospitals in 2006-07.
- Overall, 56.2% per cent of separations that reported a procedure occurred in the public sector. Overall, 75.1% of separations from the public sector recorded a procedure compared with 92.8% in the private sector.
- Separations in 2006-07 for selected high volume procedures and selected procedures that can be electively performed are shown in Figure 15.
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- In 2006-07, high volume procedures included Haemodialysis (943,393 separations), Gastrointestinal endoscopy (617,277 separations), Chemotherapy administration (262,500 separations), Lens insertion (178,866 separations) and Arthroscopic procedures (131,810 separations).
- Some procedures are being increasingly undertaken in the private sector, such as coronary artery bypass graft and coronary angioplasty.
- The number of separations for caesarean section increased by 28.2% between 2002-03 and 2006-07. They increased by 22.3% in the private sector and decreased by 32.0% in the public sector (Figure 16).
- In 2006-07, 62.3% of the separations with a caesarean section were in the public sector and 37.7% were in the private sector (55,327 and 33,439 respectively), compared with 60.5% and 39.5% in 2002-03 (41,914 and 27,348 respectively).
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Waiting times for elective surgery in public hospitals
The median waiting time for elective surgery in public hospitals in 2006-07 was 32 days. See Chapter 6 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- Ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, and ear, nose and throat surgery were the surgical specialties with the longest median waiting times (71, 50 and 46 days respectively) in 2006-07 (Figure 17).
- All other surgical specialties had a median waiting time of less than 30 days. Cardio-thoracic surgery had the shortest median waiting time (12 days).
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Emergency department care in public hospitals
About 6.7 million accident and emergency occasions of service were provided in public hospitals in 2006-07. See Chapter 5 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
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Data on triage category, waiting times, patient age
group and sex were available for about 78% of accident and emergency
occasions of service, mainly those delivered in emergency departments in Principal
referral and specialist women's and children's hospitals and Large
hospitals.
- A higher proportion of patients were seen on time (as defined in Chapter 5) in Large hospitals than in Principal referral and women's and children's hospitals. In Large hospitals, 73% of emergency department occasions of service were seen on time, with 99% of patients who were assigned a triage category of Resuscitation seen on time.
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In Principal
referral and specialist
women's and children's hospitals,
66% of emergency
department occasions of service were seen on time, with 99% of patients
who were assigned a triage category of Resuscitation
seen on time.
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In Large
hospitals, 70% of Urgent patients were seen on time compared
with 63% in Principal referral and women's and children's hospitals
(Figure 18).
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Persons
aged 15-24 years accounted for the largest number of emergency department
occasions of service (833,672, 15.8%) (Figure 19).
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Australian hospitals
Overall, the number of hospitals in Australia has increased over time. See Chapter 2 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- There were 1,301 hospitals in Australia
in 2006-07.
- There were 739 public acute hospitals and 19 public psychiatric hospitals.
- There were 265 private free-standing day hospital facilities and 278 other private hospitals.
- There was an increase in the number of public acute hospitals from 729, in 2002-03 to 739 in 2006-07.
- The number of private hospitals fell from 549 facilities in 2002-03 to 543 facilities in 2006-07.
Available beds
The number of available beds is a better indicator of the availability of hospital services than is the number of hospitals because hospital sizes vary considerably. However, comparability of hospital bed numbers can be affected by the casemix of hospitals with differing proportions of beds being available for specialised and more general purposes. See Chapter 2 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- In 2006-07, there were 82,662 available beds in Australia.
- There were 53,536 available beds in public acute hospitals and 2,342 in public psychiatric hospitals.
- There were an estimated 1,992 available beds in private free-standing day hospital facilities and 24,766 in other private hospitals.
- There was a 3.2% increase in available beds from 80,103 in 1997-98 to 82,662 in 2006-07, an average increase of 0.4% annually.
- The number of available beds in public acute hospitals increased by an average of 0.2% annually, from 52,801 in 1997-98 to 53,563 in 2006-07 (Figure 20).
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- The number of available beds/chairs in private free-standing day hospital facilities increased by an average of 4.4% annually between 1997-98 and 2006-07 (from 1,348 to 1,992).
Staff in Australian public hospitals
Staff numbers in public acute and public psychiatric hospitals have grown over time (Figure 21). See Chapter 3 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- The number of full-time equivalent staff increased by an average of 3.3% annually between 1997-98 (175,024) and 2006-07 (234,717). The number of salaried medical officers increased by an average of 5.3% annually over this period (from 15,387 to 24,456) and the number of nurses increased by an annual average of 3.2% (from 78,239 to 103,960).
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Recurrent expenditure on public hospitals
Recurrent expenditure is expenditure on goods and services that are consumed during the year, for example, salaries. See Chapter 3 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
- Recurrent expenditure on public acute and public psychiatric hospitals was $26,290 million in 2006-07. After adjusting for inflation, this represented an increase of 5.6% compared with 2005-06.
- The largest share of this expenditure was for salary payments, which accounted for 62% ($16,410 million) of recurrent expenditure (Figure 22).
- The major non-salary recurrent expenses in the public sector were for medical and surgical supplies, administrative expenses and drug supplies.
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Recurrent expenditure (cost) for providing care in public hospitals
The average recurrent expenditure per casemix-adjusted separation is regarded as a measure of efficiency. See Chapter 4 of Australian Hospital Statistics 2006-07.
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The average recurrent cost of providing
care per casemix-adjusted separation in public hospitals
increased from $3,184 in 2002-03 to $3,299
in 2006-07 (not adjusted for inflation).
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This represents a total increase of
23.2%
in this period, an average increase of
5.3%
annually (Figure 23).
- In 2006-07 the average cost comprised $2,027 for non-medical labour expenditure, $803 for medical labour expenditure and $1093 for other recurrent expenditure. Other recurrent expenditure costs include domestic services; repairs and maintenance; administration and medical, drug and food supplies.
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