What will the next government do about elective surgery waiting lists?

Ahead of the next election, AMA (NSW) is urging parties to commit to reducing the number of patients waiting for elective surgery.

“As of today, no major party has made any commitments that will improve access to elective surgery in public hospitals,” said AMA (NSW) President, Dr Michael Bonning.

The BHI’s Quarterly Report for October to December 2022 found there were 99,300 patients on the waiting list at the end of December. Of those patients, 17,074 had waited longer than clinically recommended. “We need politicians to stand up and say that having 100,000 patients on the elective surgery waiting list is not acceptable and that there is a clear plan to address this backlog.

“These are patients whose lives are on hold while they wait for surgery to fix conditions that are often painful and debilitating.

“When the BHI began reporting in 2010, there were 65,476 people on the elective surgery waiting list. The upwards trend that we’ve witnessed over the years will not be reversed without direct and meaningful action.

“Operating theatres are sitting empty because we don’t have the doctors and nurses needed to staff them.

“NSW needs more doctors, and it needs to support the workforce it already has by ensuring our best and brightest don’t leave NSW for other States which are offering better support, better remuneration, and better working conditions. AMA (NSW)’s 2023 Election Priorities document NSW Hospitals: Advanced Life Support Needed called for a 15% increase in elective surgery over the next two years, and a plan to reduce the waitlist to be under 25,000 by 2028, with a 10-year plan to achieve ‘back to zero’ on elective surgery waitlists. The BHI report indicates a stark and unacceptable increase in the number of patients waiting longer than recommended for non-urgent but necessary surgeries – from 1,642 in the first quarter of 2010 to 11,412 at the end of 2022.

“There are also clear differences between hospitals on elective surgery wait times. Patients at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital should be concerned that the median waiting time for elective surgery is 345 days compared to the average which is 316 days,” Dr Bonning said.

“If the next government adequately resources public hospitals, the current crisis in elective surgery is fixable,” Dr Bonning said.

“Our doctors are telling us that in many places work is being done in the public hospital system, they’ve got capacity to do more, it just needs to be adequately resourced. Dr Bonning added that clearing the backlog through private hospitals is not an appropriate solution. “Pushing public patients through private hospitals compromises training for the next generation of doctors. We need solutions that are sustainable and focused on supporting the long-term goal of building and retaining the nation’s top doctors,” Dr Bonning said.

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