The 2016 public hospital report card makes for grim reading.
In it, an "F" is marked across state and territory efforts to meet targets to see and treat emergency patients.
It also says doctors are feeling increasing pressure to handle more cases with fewer resources.
Dr Stephen Parnis is an emergency physician and vice president of the Australian Medical Association.
"Demoralising. There is an increasing level of cynicism. When you see elective cases that present to emergency that become emergencies. The arthritic hip that leads to a fall, which comes a fractured hip with the complications and risks going up exponentially. The gall bladder that should have come out a few months ago that has turned infective and led to inflammation of the pancreas - these are life threatening conditions that could be avoided."
The hospitals report found no state or territory achieved targets set for emergency waiting times.
Only the Northern Territory saw an improvement in performance.
Elective surgery waiting times have improved in Victoria, Queensland, the Northern Territory and ACT - but only New South Wales met its targets.
AMA President Brian Owler says demand for health services is going up - but the number of hospital beds is not.
"We're seeing more patients, not only more patients but sicker patients, more complex patients presenting to our emergency departments. Our hospitals are struggling to meet the demand that's there before them. So when these changes come into effect as of 2017, obviously the performance of our public hospital is going to suffer even further."
He's referring to federal plans to adjust public health funding for states and territories to match population growth and inflation, as measured by the consumer price index.
In a statement, Health Minister Sussan Ley says Commonwealth public hospital funding will grow over the next four years by 3.3 billion dollars or around 21.5 per cent.
She says health reforms will be rolled out later in 2017 but it's too early to reveal the details.
Despite Labor being in power during many of the years that saw poor hospital performance, opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese says there's just one solution.
"Well it's a huge challenge because the commonwealth government are slashing funding for health and education. It is a huge challenge. I tell you what - first step - elect a Labor Government."
Greens leader Senator Richard Di Natale - himself a trained G-P - says the answer to public health woes is to reform tax so the wealthy do not escape paying what they owe.
"When you ask an ordinary person, would they prefer to have decent healthcare and ensure that we raise revenue through those unfair tax breaks and closing those loopholes - the answer is a resounding yes. And yet we've got this Prime Minister who is not prepared to take on the big end of town and ensure that we raise revenue to pay for the services that Australians want and deserve. This is a huge debate going into an election year."
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