THE proportion of patients treated within four hours at St George Hospital's emergency department has risen by 3 per cent in a year.
However, the latest figure, 66 per cent, is still well short of the National Emergency Access Target of 81 per cent, set under a funding agreement between the federal and state governments.
The target is increasing in stages from 69 per cent in 2012 to 90 per cent next year.
Labor blamed the failure to meet the target on the state government cutting $3 billion from hospitals since 2011, but Health Minister Jillian Skinner described the claim as "a fabrication".
ALP candidate for Rockdale Steve Kamper said one in three patients with potentially life-threatening conditions such as chest pain, blood loss and dehydration were left to wait for longer periods for treatment than clinicians recommended.
"Emergency patient admissions at St George Hospital have risen from 16,291 to 16,832 over the past year, a sign that local health services are being pressured by increasing demand," he said.
Mrs Skinner said this year's recurrent health budget had risen 5.2 per cent, and funding for the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District had risen 4 per cent.
She said the 3 per cent increase in the number of patients treated within four hours had been achieved despite a similar rise in the number of attendances.
"Under Labor, in the same period in 2010, just 47 per cent of patients left the emergency department within four hours," Mrs Skinner said.
"The figure has improved by almost 20 per cent since the Coalition came to office."
NEW EMERGENCY
Waiting times may improve with the opening of the new $41 million St George Hospital emergency department on October 15.
However, senior medical staff say, based on experience elsewhere, the new facility will also see a substantial increase in the number of people seeking treatment.
