Canberra's emergency departments faced unprecedented demand and unnecessary presentations during the first quarter of the financial year, causing waiting times to climb.
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ACT Health's first quarterly report for 2014-15 has found the Canberra and Calvary Hospital emergency departments dealt with a five per cent increase in presentations, with 32,724 visits recorded in just three months.
"This additional demand restricts emergency department resources and can lead to extended waiting times for some patients," the report said.
The report found the average waiting time in the two emergency departments increased from 39 minutes to 47 minutes, although waiting times for urgent category-one cases remained the same.
The two emergency departments failed to meet their targets for category two-to-four patients.
Only 77 per cent of patients in triage category two with chest pains or severe burns were seen in less than 10 minutes, which was below the target of 80 per cent.
For those with category two or three conditions such as moderate blood loss or dehydration, only 43 and 44 per cent respectively were seen within the targeted time.
Those waiting for non-urgent treatment for small cuts or abrasions were forced to wait close to an hour on average, despite waiting times falling to 44 minutes a year earlier.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the ACT has the highest rate of GP-type presentations that do not require admission to hospital in Australia.
The highest volume of patients at Canberra's emergency departments were triaged as semi-urgent with conditions such as sprained ankles or earaches, with 83 per cent of this cohort discharged rather than admitted.
"This large cohort of patients … suggests that more people are presenting to the emergency department for treatment that could have been treated by alternative options such as their general practitioner," the report said.
"Low bulk billing rates and the perceived availability of GP services in the ACT may be a contributing factor to the increase in low acuity presentations to ACT public hospital emergency departments."
ACT opposition leader Jeremy Hanson said the report was more bad news for Canberrans who are forced to wait in emergency departments for treatment.
"We know that doctors in Canberra are the most expensive in the nation and we have the most number of people who defer going to a GP because they are so expensive," he said.
"We have the lowest rates of bulk billing and the government hasn't done enough to support GPs."
During the first three months of the financial year, 60 per cent of all emergency department presentations had a length of stay less than four hours.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the proportion of patients who waited four hours or less increased from 58 per cent in 2012-13 to 62 per cent in 2013-14.
"For people to be seen in the emergency department in a timely fashion there needs to be a bed space available to take them from the waiting room into the emergency department," the report said.
"To make bed spaces available in the emergency department, you need to move those already in the emergency department out.
"With an increasing level of demand for inpatient beds this means either creating additional beds or getting more efficient with their use."
