26 Feb 2013

Queensland hospital statistics to be published

1:00 pm on 26 February 2013

Details about the performance of hospitals in Queensland are to published regularly by the state government.

Information including emergency department waiting times, the number of infections picked up in hospitals, and the average cost of admitting patients will be published in newspapers every quarter.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the government wants to replace a "culture of secrecy" in Queensland Health.

"Being measured and judged on emergency department performance, waiting times and cleanliness of hospitals are all issues infinitely more important to health than being judged on union membership or the size of a health bureaucracy," he told the Courier Mail newspaper.

The statistics will allow Queenslanders to compare the 15 hospital districts in the state with each other and with past performances.

The previous Labor government admitted in 2011 there was an "unacceptable culture" in Queensland Health. Problems included the introduction of a faulty payroll system.