South Australians collectively waited 10,770 years for elective surgery in public hospitals in 2016-17

SOUTH Australians waited a combined 10,770 years for elective surgery in public hospitals in 2016-17, number crunching by an online comparison site concludes.

• Liberals pledge to cut surgery wait time during the election

SOUTH Australians waited a combined 10,770 years for elective surgery in public hospitals in 2016-17, number crunching by an online comparison site concludes.

Finder.com.au took data published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for 2016-17 in its Elective Surgery Waiting Times Hospital Statistics publication to make the calculation.

The AIHW report shows there were 58,655 people admitted to South Australian public hospitals for elective surgery in that period. The median waiting time was 39 days — up from 34 days four years earlier and just above the national average of 38 days.

However, waiting time varied considerably depending on the type of surgery.

The AIHW report shows the percentage of people waiting more than a year for surgery in SA rose from 1 per cent to 1.8 per cent over four years, just above the national figure of 1.7 per cent.

The procedure with the longest waiting time in South Australia was a total knee replacement, with a median waiting time of 209 days.

This was followed by Septoplasty (nasal surgery), which had a median waiting period of 205 days.

In contrast, coronary artery bypass grafting procedures had a median waiting period of 22 days — the shortest waiting period in South Australia of all elective procedures.

Finder.com.au insurance spokeswoman Bessie Hassan said people without private health insurance should consider the risks of lengthy waits if they need elective surgery.

“The length of a waiting period for a medical procedure can come down to a range of factors, including hospital size and the availability of specialists,” she said.

“One in seven South Australians take out healthcare to avoid waiting periods, demonstrating how much consumers take this into consideration.

“In some cases, patients wish to be seen more urgently than what is offered in the public system and are prepared to pay to avoid the queue.”

The calculations show in total Australians waited a combined 149,198 years for elective surgery, led by NSW with 66,886 years, Queensland with 26,038 years and Victoria with 24,685 years — all with much bigger populations than SA.

Elective surgery is divided into three categories — 1 (should be done within 30 days) 2 (within 90 days) and 3 (within 365 days).

As of Wednesday there were 16,606 people statewide listed as ready for surgery including 1425 listed as overdue.