Health Minister Steven Miles vows to end elective operation delays

Health Minister Steven Miles was “incredibly moved” by the stories told to The Sunday Mail last week by breast cancer patients waiting as long as eight years for reconstruction.

HEALTH Minister Steven Miles was “incredibly moved” by the stories told to The Sunday Mail last week by breast cancer patients waiting as long as eight years for reconstruction.

Kate Yeoman, from Cairns, bravely bared her mastectomy scars on the front page to expose the raw trauma involved in losing breasts and waiting year after year for reconstruction.

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The Minister reacted to the plight of these courageous women and has promised to fly 25 patients who have had mastectomies from Cairns to Brisbane for the long-waited surgery.

Ms Yeoman (pictured) said she received a massive wave of support for posing for the photo and said the Minister’s action was “wonderful”. Mr Miles called her personally this week.

“But we have seen money thrown at this issue before which was barely even a Band-Aid fix. Let’s hope the Health Minister follows through with this promise and supports each patient in the final stages of recovery,” Ms Yeoman said.

Kate Yeoman had a double mastectomy eight years ago after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and she is still waiting for a reconstruction. Pic : Brian Cassey

Later in the week, the Minister reaffirmed his commitment to reducing the backlog of patients waiting to see a specialist or have elective surgery.

“I’ve asked my department to look at ways more people can have their appointment or surgery quicker.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in the demand for specialist appointments driven by an ageing population and the increasing burden of disease,” he said.

“We’ve invested over $593 million into the Strategy for Queenslanders, including an additional $77.4 million in this year’s Budget to fund more specialist outpatient appointments, and the flow-on impacts for elective surgery.”