Elective surgery at RAH, QEH postponed amid demand surge

Hospital demand surging beyond capacity has become so common medics now see it as normal, the doctors union says, amid warnings elective surgery cancellations are now here to stay.

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Elective surgery cancellations are likely to become more frequent, after this week’s surge of patients at hospital emergency departments forced some to be postponed, doctors say.

Twenty-four elective cases were postponed yesterday due to the sudden weekend surge in ED demand. There were also 61 cancellations on Monday, but SA Health says Monday’s were not linked to the ED backlog and were because of factors including people simply not being ready for surgery.

Australasian College of Emergency Medicine immediate past president Simon Judkins said the hospital systems surge capacity had now been completely eroded. Picture: AAP Image/Mark Brake)

Australasian College of Emergency Medicine immediate past president Simon Judkins said there was no surge capacity left in the system, while the doctors’ union said such avalanches of demand were now so common they were accepted as “normal”. SA Salaried Medical Officers Association senior industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland, pictured, said big surges in demand leading to EDs operating above capacity were now regular events.

“Doctors are well aware EDs are full, but it is now so normal, it no longer rates regular attention,” she said.

She said the past weekend was particularly bad and warned in coming months SA was likely to see a jump in mental-health calls because of economic effects of CO-VID-19. Officials said demand had eased and no more elective cases were expected to be delayed this week.

They said there was no single factor for the surge, which saw EDs clogged, dozens of people waiting for extended periods for a ward bed after treatment, ambulances ramping and paramedics working extended shifts without a break. Conditions that caused people to call an ambulance or arrive at an ED covered a wide range, including respiratory, back, mental-health and heart issues. However, unlike other years where demand spiked, flu was not the culprit.

Flu cases are at their lowest numbers for this time of year in six years, thanks to COVID-driven hygiene and social-distancing measures. Flu numbers stood at 1553 confirmed cases for the year to August 22, compared to 23,107 at the same time last year. The total for 2020 was 27,097 cases. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars blamed weekend staffing levels for clogging EDs, in turn leading to ramping, saying: “Week after week, we see a build-up of people waiting for discharge over the weekend which creates an overflow.”

Premier Steven Marshall said postponing elective surgeries was a reasonable response to surges in hospital demand.

Originally published as Elective surgery at RAH, QEH postponed amid demand surge