4839.0.55.002 - Patient Experiences in Australia: States and Territories, 2013-14 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/05/2015  First Issue
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MEDIA RELEASE
27 May 2015
Embargo: 11:30 am (Canberra Time)
61/2015

Health Access across the States and Territories

Many Australians felt they waited longer than acceptable to see a health professional in 2013-14, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today reveals.

The 2013-14 Patient Experience Survey in Australia: States and Territories, examines peoples' experience with health care including: visits to health professionals, whether health services were accessed when needed, waiting times to see GPs and medical specialists and patients' opinions of the care they received.

“In 2013-14, over one in four people (27 per cent) in the Northern Territory who saw a GP, felt they waited longer than acceptable to get an appointment,” said Louise Gates from the ABS.

“This is compared to just 19 per cent of people in Queensland, which has the lowest proportion in the country.”

People in the Northern Territory who saw a medical specialist were also the most likely to report waiting longer than they felt acceptable to see a medical specialist (33 per cent), while South Australians were the least likely (19 per cent).

Figures also showed that many people in 2013-14 did not see a health professional when they needed to for a variety of reasons including cost.

Tasmania had the highest proportion of people who needed to see a health professional but did not go in the previous 12 months. This included needing to go to hospital (eight per cent), see a medical specialist (ten per cent) or see a dental professional (23 per cent).

This compared with Western Australia which had the lowest proportion for hospital (four per cent), South Australia which had the lowest proportion for medical specialists (six per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory for dental professionals (13 per cent).

Further information can be found in Patient Experiences in Australia: States and Territories (cat. no. 4839.0.55.002) available for free download from the ABS website

Media note:
  • When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.