Planning and service provision at Canberra Hospital needs to operate more effectively as a "24-7 operation" ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said on Monday, as data showed a 95 per cent patient capacity rate so far this year.
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Ms Gallagher said opening of extra beds would help ease the capacity issues described by emergency department clinical director Dr Michael Hall as "unsafe".
Dr Hall told the ABC the current patient levels were unsustainable, and higher than the Australian Medical Association's recommended 85 per cent bed occupancy level for safe hospital management and care.
He called for consideration of cuts to elective care and for a resources to be maximised through a seven-day, 24-hour operating model, as emergency department presentations have increased by 7 per cent.
"I agree with some of the suggestions Dr Hall put forward," Ms Gallagher said.
"It really is about trying to change the focus of the hospital to be a 24-7 operation so we don't have these large periods of time during that 24 hours where decisions aren't taken and work backs up."
Ms Gallagher, who serves as ACT Health Minister, said possible changes to overnight admission processes was one area which could help improve services.
Conceding that capacity could be as high as 97 per cent at times, Ms Gallagher said operating the hospital's full suite of services around the clock would present staffing, industrial and funding challenges for the government and ACT Health.
"It certainly has budgetary implications but there are ways you can manage those and I think it is around how you spread your staff through the day," she said.
"The vast majority of our employees, probably about 70 to 80 per cent, work during [normal business hours] and then there's a very small workforce that works from 5pm until 9am.
"People don't get sick during business hours so the hospital doesn't necessarily slow down as the workforce changes."
Ms Gallagher said the current capacity issues had to be managed, but changes could also deliver efficiencies to the ACT Health system.
An extra 27 beds are set to open at the hospital this week.
She said managing elective surgery through Calvary and John James hospitals would ease capacity for trauma and tertiary operations at Canberra Hospital.
"I think at the moment we are as far down the track as we have ever been in getting agreement to changing the relationship of the hospitals."
Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson called on Ms Gallagher to explain the figures on Monday.
"This is extremely serious and shows the major problems the emergency department and the hospital have been coping with for a long time, problems that Canberra Liberals have been highlighting for many years while ACT Labor has failed to act," Mr Hanson said.
"Katy Gallagher cannot ignore that Canberrans' lives are being put at risk by ACT Labor's very poor management of the health system," Mr Hanson concluded.
New smoking bans for patients and visitors to Canberra's hospitals as well as ACT Health campuses came into effect on Monday.
Canberra, Calvary, National Capital and John James hospitals have removed all designated on-site smoking areas as part of the changes.
Ms Gallagher said the territory wide reforms included nicotine replacement therapy programs for patients as part of broader cultural change.
"The message is it's not going to be condoned any longer. There's been a lot of work building up to this point," Ms Gallagher said.
