The Australian Bureau of Statistics released today the results of the first national Patient Experience Survey examining health care for Australians in the last 12 months.

The findings indicate four out of five people aged 15 years and above had seen a general practitioner (GP) in the past year. Just under a fifth of these had seen a GP for urgent medical care. One in 18 people had seen a GP after hours. In about a sixth of Australian households with children under 15, at least one child had seen a GP after hours.

South Australians had the highest rates of seeing GPs after hours for both the parents and children's health posting 9 and 23 percent, respectively.

Approximately three out of four people seeking urgent medical care reported seeing a GP on the same day they needed the care, mostly within four hours, ABS said. Just over one in ten people, however, did not see a GP until two or more days after making an appointment for urgent medical care.

A quarter of households with children under 15 had at least one child who had seen a GP for urgent medical care. Most households reported that their children had seen a GP within four hours of making an appointment, or after four hours but on the same day.

Almost one in six people who had seen a GP reported that they had waited longer than they felt acceptable to get an appointment. One in five people, who were referred to a medical specialist, felt they had waited longer than was acceptable to get an appointment.

The survey found that some people delayed or did not get some types of medical care due to cost. For instance, one in 16 people had delayed seeing or not seen a GP, and nearly one in 10 people with a prescription had delayed getting or did not get their medication. About one in 10 people referred to a medical specialist had delayed seeing or did not see the specialist.

Except for hospital admissions and emergency visits, women used health services more than men.

Western Australians had the highest rates of being admitted to hospital at 16 percent, and going to a hospital emergency department.

A quarter of the people that had visited an emergency department in the last year thought the care they had gone there for, could have been provided by a GP. This was also the case in over a third of households with children who had been taken to emergency.

About 1 in 20 people reported having medical care that caused a harmful side-effect. In a little over half of these cases, the event causing the harm had occurred at home. Slightly more than half of those who had experienced a harmful side-effect reported they had been informed that this might occur.