Barwon Health’s elective surgery waitlist blows out, paramedic being held up by unnecessary calls

New data has revealed why Geelong’s first responders are struggling to deliver urgent care, but it’s not necessarily Covid-19 that’s to blame.

The number of patients waiting for elective surgery at Geelong hospital blew out by more than 30 per cent in just three months as the state’s health services remain under pressure.

And there are fears the backlog will continue to get worse as elective surgery remains suspended at public hospitals across the state.

New Victorian Agency for Health Information data shows the number of patients on the Geelong hospital elective surgery waiting list rose from 1714 on September 30 to 2291 by December 31.

The majority of patients on the waitlist on December 31 were waiting for category three surgery.

The waitlist, which Barwon Health previously said had “grown significantly” since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, is expected to be further impacted after a state government directive to cancel all non-urgent elective surgery was issued in January.

An ambulance arrives at Geelong emergency department. Picture: Alan Barber

Paramedics are also responding to more urgent call-outs, with new Ambulance Victoria data revealing there was a 4.9 per cent increase in life-threatening code 1 call-outs across Greater Geelong, between October and December, compared to the same period the year prior.

Response times also dropped, with paramedics attending to 74.8 per cent of code 1 patients in the Greater Geelong LGA within 15 minutes – compared with 79.6 per cent for the same period in 2020.

The average response time to code 1 patients was 13 minutes and 13 seconds.

Ambulance Victoria Barwon South West acting regional director Jerome Peyton said the data for the second quarter of 2021/22 showed the pandemic was placing unprecedented and sustained pressure on the entire health system.

“We are now seeing a significant increase in calls from people with Covid-19 symptoms, many who do not require emergency care,” Mr Peyton said.

“Most people with Covid-19 will not need an ambulance, as minor Covid-19 symptoms can be managed at home. If you develop severe symptoms, you should call triple-0 immediately.”

Ambulance Victoria chief executive officer Professor Tony Walker said paramedics were also spending more time offloading patients at busy hospitals and sicker patients who have delayed visiting their GP or specialist now finding themselves more unwell.

As of Monday, non-urgent elective surgery will resume at up to half of normal practice levels at private hospitals and day procedure centres.

Barwon Health spokeswoman Kate Bibby said Geelong hospital was working closely with Epworth and St John of God Geelong to meet the needs of the community.

“The scaling back of non-urgent elective surgery has helped free up resources, both staff and physical bed capacity, to ensure we manage the demand on our health services across Geelong,” Ms Bibby said.

“Addressing the elective surgery backlog will be a key priority for Barwon Health once it is able to safely resume.”

Health minister Martin Foley flagged last week that authorities would look to resume elective surgeries in the state system in case numbers continue to fall.

Under this plan regional public hospitals would operate at 75 per cent capacity, while metropolitan hospitals would operate at 50 per cent capacity.

Originally published as Barwon Health’s elective surgery waitlist blows out, paramedic being held up by unnecessary calls