According to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) recurrent hospital expenditure in Australia, for public and private hospitals combined, topped $55 billion in 2013–14. The report, Hospital resources 2013–14: Australian hospital statistics shows that more than $44 billion was spent by public hospitals, and over $11 billion by private hospitals. In 2013–14, there were 1,359 hospitals in Australia—747 public hospitals, accounting for 65% of hospital beds (58,600), and 612 private hospitals accounting for 35% of beds (31,000).
“Nationally, public hospitals employed more than 287,000 full-time equivalent staff in 2013–14,” AIHW spokesperson Jenny Hargreaves, commented “More than 130,000 nurses accounted for 45% of public hospital staff, while more than 37,000 salaried medical officers comprised about 13%.” Ms Hargreaves added.
Ms Hargreaves explained that in the 5 years to 2013–14, recurrent expenditure by public hospitals rose by 4.4% on average each year (after adjusting for inflation). Salaries for public hospital staff increased by an average of 3.4% each year over the same period. For private hospitals, recurrent expenditure increased by an average of 3.4% between 2009-10 and 2013-14.