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Experts assess hospital efficiency

Check up: Kim Hames at Royal Perth Hospital with Professor Derek Bell. Picture: Dione Davidson/The West Australian

Health Minister Kim Hames says hospital emergency departments are struggling to reach a target of admitting or discharging 81 per cent of patients within four hours.

Dr Hames said yesterday hospitals were reaching 76 per cent and had to become more efficient to meet the 2015 target of 90 per cent, which had been set under an agreement with the Federal Government and was linked to reward funding.

Dr Hames was speaking at Royal Perth Hospital as he toured with Derek Bell, part of a team of British health experts the Government has brought to WA to help fix the slide in hospital treatment times.

Professor Bell, an expert in acute medicine at London's Imperial College, rejected claims the four-hour rule program had been dumped by some British hospitals.

He said though the National Health Service was not perfect, many hospitals still maintained levels of 95 per cent in meeting the four-hour rule. Dr Hames said WA hospitals were doing exceptionally well compared with other States but could improve.

The British experts would focus on Royal Perth, Sir Charles Gaird-ner and Fremantle hospitals and advise on how they could become more efficient.

Australian Medical Association WA president Richard Choong said he welcomed any advice that could help WA hospitals but was cautious about whether aspects of the NHS could be easily adopted here.