Gold Coast University Hospital performance data reveals nearly 30,000 people are waiting for an initial specialist outpatient appointment
Recent data reveals a record number of patients are waiting for appointments at Gold Coast University Hospital. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WAITING?
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Mattresses, trolleys, nangs: Putrid mess in Surfers flophouse
- Man charged with ‘stalking’ children at Coast shopping centre
NEARLY 30,000 people are waiting for an initial specialist outpatient appointment at the Gold Coast University Hospital, new data reveals.
Of the 28,866 waiting, more than 21,000 need surgical care in specialties including ear, nose and throat (ENT), ophthalmology and orthopaedics, as of January 1 according to Queensland Health’s quarterly information for specialist outpatient.
The data also reveals residents are waiting longer than the clinically recommended time frame for appointments in ENT, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general surgery, orthopaedic and urology.
FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: JUST $1 A WEEK FOR FIRST 12 WEEKS
In the three months from October to December 2020, GCUH saw 13,874 patients at its specialist outpatient clinics, with 8417 of those in the most urgent, category one.
Meanwhile, the hospital’s emergency department had 43,075 presentations in the three months to March 2021, with all facing immediate life-threatening issues seen within the recommended time frames.
However, only 46 per cent of people in the category two, imminently life-threatening, were seen within the recommended time frame. A little more than half presenting with potentially life-threatening symptoms were seen within recommended time frames.
In the same time period, nearly 2000 people gave up waiting for treatment over issues including long wait times.
For patients who arrived by ambulance, only 50 per cent were transferred off the stretcher and into the hospital within 30 minutes.
Elective surgery data for the October to December quarter was not provided but as of March 30, there were 5188 people waiting for surgery.Of those, 419 people were in category one and 1521 and 3248 in category two and three, respectively.
GCUH treated 2532 patients during the same time period, with 95 per cent treated within the clinically recommended time frames.
Across the state, there were 622,609 ED presentations and 36,781 elective surgeries from January to March, an increase of 14 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively from the same period last year.
SURGERY CRISIS: 'She'll drive her car off a cliff'
March 10, 2021
A HELENSVALE grandmother living in “horrific pain” has contemplated “driving off a cliff” instead of waiting 18 months for a hip replacement through the public health system.
“My brother and I have even talked about pushing her down the stairs so she'll be able to have the surgery sooner,” said daughter Jodie Sherman, of her 64-year-old mother.
“She’s constantly in pain, I can’t believe they let people exist like this in society. If mum has to wait 18 months for the surgery she will drive a car off a cliff, she will commit suicide.
“No one should be made to live like this, she has no quality of life.”
In 2019 Sally Sherman was classed a category 3 non-urgent outpatient and was told it would be 18 months before her first appointment with a specialist.
However, last year she was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis and her condition deteriorated rapidly, with “bone now rubbing against bone”.
In a desperate bid to be elevated to higher category, she got a letter from her GP and paid $250 for a consultation with private orthopaedic surgeon Dr Jason Beer.
In a letter recommending she be elevated from a category 2 to 3, Dr Beer said that Ms Sherman had end stage right hip arthritis which was “intrusive on activities of daily living and quality of life” and that she also had osteoporosis.
Dr Beer said wait times for category 2 outpatient appointments were currently 12 months, with surgery at least a six months after that — a total wait of 18 months.
He suggested Ms Sherman could withdraw money from her superannuation to fund the surgery privately, costing about $35,000.
“But a lot of women mum’s age were at home with kids in their 20s and 30s and didn’t start earning wages until they were in their 40s, so their superannuation is already well behind,” said Ms Sherman of her mum.
Staff at Gold Coast University Hospital told her there wasn’t anything they could do for her mum but offer pain relief, and that the hospital wasn’t operating at capacity for surgeries, with three operating theatres still closed.
“They have all the PPE gear in the world, no community transmission of COVID, why aren’t they running at full capacity?”
Ms Sherman added that Queensland Health’s initiative to pay private surgeons to do public surgeries was not being taken up, with surgeons telling her they weren’t doing the work because they weren’t getting paid enough and were busy with private patients.
“If mum loses her job it will be more of a drain on the taxpayer paying her a disability pension or the dole, it just doesn’t make sense for them to make people wait,” she said.
Last week the Bulletin asked Gold Coast Health detailed questions about wait times for both category 2 and 3 outpatient referrals and elective surgeries.
It replied: “GCH continues to meet the growing demand for elective surgery, outpatients and emergency care. Within this demand, we operate under a triage system where more urgent cases are prioritised and less urgent cases have to wait. We are implementing new initiatives to manage waitlists.
“There has been an increase in the use of telehealth for outpatients and will be working more closely with specialist GPs and allied health professionals to reduce waiting times, especially for non-urgent category 3.
“Financial year-to-date (to December) there was a 19.5 per cent increase in patients receiving their initial outpatient appointment within the recommended time frame, compared to the previous year.”
It said that despite extra pressure on its emergency departments “the average wait time for elective surgery was reduced and the number of elective surgeries increased.
“We expect to clear more than 24,000 people from the waiting list this year.”
NEW SURGERY FOR SKIN CANCER
A LESS invasive skin cancer treatment for delicate and difficult areas is now available on the Gold Coast, but only at Pindara Private Hospital.
Mohs surgery, named after the surgeon who developed it, Federic Mohs, is a combination of dermatology and pathology, in which a specialist dermatologist removes the skin cancer in stages, using a microscope to examine the tissue for cancer cells as they go.
FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: JUST $1 FOR FIRST 28 DAYS
Layers of skin are removed and examined until there are no more cancer cells present.
The procedure is being hailed a “game changer” for skin cancer treatment because the complete removal of cancerous cells allows for the highest cure rate. It also preserves as much healthy tissue as possible and patients get results on the day, meaning no anxious wait to find out if all the cancer is gone.
Judith Ingram, of Merrimac, had a skin cancer removed from her ear under local anaesthetic and then a procedure to repair the area at the same time.
“He kept shaving and shaving (the tissue) until he got a clear margin,” she said. “It was great to get it all sorted in one appointment.
“I’m not a sunworshipper either so it just goes to show how important regular skin check-ups are.”
Northern NSW retired teacher Melissa Darnley has one of her husband’s kidneys so is immunocompromised, meaning she’s developed lots of skin cancers over the years.
“I know I have lots more cancers ahead of me, so knowing the surgery is not so invasive, especially on my face, makes such a difference,” she said.
Dermatologist Dr Andrew Freeman, from The Skin Centre at Pindara, said he used the treatment on areas such as lips, eyelids, fingers and ears.
“The roots of the skin cancer may extend beyond the visible portion of the tumour so if the roots are not removed, the cancer could recur,” he said.
“The reconstruction is as important as the removal of the cancer, especially on the face. The Mohs technique allows a precise removal of the cancer, which is important because every millimetre of tissue you lose on the face makes a difference.”
The hospital’s chief executive Mark Page said previously people had to travel to Brisbane or interstate for the treatment.
Meet the Gold Coasters making waves on MAFS
Two Gold Coasters have made this year’s season of Married At First Sight - one is already causing a stir. Meet Eliot and Ashleigh.
Tomic reveals why he’s still playing – and his new dream
Bernard Tomic is shrugging off two of his games being investigated by a police probe into possible match-fixing, that was ultimately dropped, to focus on returning to the top 100. RARE INTERVIEW