COVID-19 will cause deaths as other life-saving surgery swamped, surgeon warns
With attention focused on gearing the health system to deal with coronavirus, a leading surgeon has warned that people who don’t even have the virus are going to die because of it if the state government doesn’t change its plans.
Central Coast
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A leading vascular surgeon has slammed the State Government’s plan to “ramp up” elective surgery before the peak of coronavirus hits, saying it is a waste of vital medical resources and money.
Dr Bernie Bourke has been doing lifesaving operations on the Central Coast for more than 30 years, and said the State government needed to abandon the plan, and instead act quickly to ensure some hospitals were set up to deal with life threatening conditions that were not related to COVID-19.
He said funds proposed to increase elective surgery could be allocated to striking a deal with some private hospitals to do day to day life saving surgery.
Dr Bourke and his son Victor – also a vascular surgeon – said people with serious conditions could be pushed aside when they critically needed care.
“We need some hospitals dedicated to non-coronavirus life threatening conditions – get these people out of the way of medical staff who are trying to deal with COVID patients that are coming in,” Dr Bourke said.
“Separate them while we still can,” he said.
“It’s not for people to have a hip replacement – it just needs to be somewhere for people whose life is in danger to be treated without having to go into the chaotic conditions that are likely to develop around COVID-19
“If we overreact, then no one will know – but if we underreact – people are going to die.
“I am very worried.”
Dr Bourke said he had been in discussions with his medical colleagues in the Netherlands where ability to treat seriously ill or injured patients with something other than COVID-19 had collapsed.
“They’ve cut out all other surgery – they’ve been forced to do it because their hospitals are overrun.
“In the Netherlands they have women making masks because they’ve run out.
“Yet you have our government four days ago saying they are going to ramp up elective surgery – its lunacy – it will take up all the equipment they will need for this onslaught.
“We need to use this small window of opportunity and time before the virus gets really serious here – and it will – we need to have some sort of plan for our hospitals.
“If I can’t do surgery on the patients who need it – some of them will die – while meanwhile up the road at a private hospital – people could still be having their hips done.
“I’ve never seen anything like this – it’s enveloped the whole world. But the advantage is that Australia still has time.
Dr Bourke said neither the president of the AMA nor the president of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons had been consulted about the planned ramp up of elective surgery.
“This is politicians – and that’s why I’ve decided to speak out.”