Quarterly Report on Comparative Hospital Performance September 2000Date of publication: September 2000
Operating Performance
• Operating results for the sector as a whole, for the quarter to September 2000, indicate an inconsistent pattern of performance; the majority of HHSs are breaking even or better, but many also exhibit a declining performance trend.
• On the basis of past years’ results, the HHSs with declining performance may be exhibiting a cyclical performance downturn during the September quarter.
FTE and Volume Growth
• The cyclical performance noted above seems to be associated with seasonal fluctuations, as patient throughput declines sharply in January then rises again in February and March each year.
• FTE growth appears to follow the increases in volume growth, but not the decreases. This appears to be a significant driver of cost and inefficiency.
• The seasonal fluctuation in patient throughput and the increased workload up to the mid-winter peak creates significant challenges for the sector.
Capital Charge
• All HHSs except two have been able to cover all of their operating costs, including the cost of interest, for the twelve months to September. Eleven are not covering the full cost of capital, including the capital charge.
• The Hospital Monitoring Directorate will be considering how the District Health Board rewards and sanctions framework should be applied specifically in respect to capital charge payment (or non-payment), and will advise the Minister of Health accordingly.
Patient Satisfaction
• September quarter saw almost all HHSs provide a full set of patient satisfaction survey results. Overall, these confirm the pattern of good results that was evident in the June quarter.
Blood Stream Infections
• The September quarter sector-wide results show a further reduction in the rate of hospital-acquired blood stream infections, which is encouraging.
Mental Health Business Plans
• The September quarter is the first period for which we have reported on HHSs’ performance against their mental health business plans.
• Only 16 HHSs submitted both an annual mental health business plan and September quarter results, therefore limited analysis has been possible.
• The results that were submitted could possibly indicate that either there is a workforce shortage, and/or planned services are not being provided.
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