Victorian patients face horror backlog for elective surgery

Wait times for elective surgery in Victoria have hit a shocking high as the backlog for “essential” procedures becomes the worst in the country.

Victoria faces a ballooning elective surgery backlog, which is the worst in the nation.

A record 203,045 patients are on track to being stuck waiting for elective surgery at a public hospital this financial year.

The dire findings are contained in a new report released by the Australian Medical Association which says the nation is at a “critical point” in providing access to timely elective surgeries.

“These surgeries — commonly referred to as elective surgeries — are not optional procedures that a patient elects to have,” the report says.

“They are essential surgeries that are often performed to address life-threatening conditions that prevent a patient from living a normal life due to severe pain or disability.”

The wait list in Victoria is the highest in the nation and contains close to 60,000 more patients than the estimated 144,999 backlog in New South Wales for 2022-23.

The Victorian backlog is also on track to surge by 50 per cent this financial year, rising from 134,950 patients in 2021-22.

It means one in every 32 Victorians faces being stuck in a growing elective surgery backlog at the state’s public hospitals, well ahead of a national average of one in 50.

Victoria also accounts for 44 per cent of the national public hospital backlog which is estimated to hit 507,764 by June.

The Australian Medical Association says the nation is at a ‘critical point’ in providing access to timely elective surgeries.

The backlog calculated by the AMA represents the number of patients it says should have been admitted for elective surgery but are either stuck on a waiting list, are waiting to see a specialist to be put on the waiting list or have simply given up on surgery or sought treatment in the private health system.

The estimate includes what the AMA calls the hidden waiting list – which differs markedly from official government numbers – by taking in patients who are waiting for an initial GP appointment or to see a specialist who will determine the urgency for surgery.

“While some patients will see a specialist in their private practice, many will see a specialist in a public hospital outpatient clinic,” the report says.

“While there is no national reporting on public hospital outpatient waiting times (which is why it is often referred to as the ‘hidden waiting list’), state and territory reporting reveals that patients will wait months or even years for an appointment.”

The Victorian Agency for Health Information says there are 84,955 patients on the state’s elective surgery wait list.

The blowout in the backlog follows the nation admitting 622,988 patients for elective surgery in public hospitals in 2021–22, the lowest number in a decade.

This was a 17.4 per cent decline in admissions when the AMA says they should have grown by 2.1 per cent to keep up with demand.

The report says the key driver of the mounting backlog is the number of patient stuck waiting to see a specialist to be added to official waiting lists.

“While some of the reduction in admissions may be due to patients receiving surgery through the private health system, this is unlikely to be a significant contributor as the benefits paid by insurers has not been growing enough to account for this reduction,” it says.

“It is more likely that these patients have either deferred care and require a referral to a specialist, or have been referred to a specialist but are waiting for the appointment (i.e. on the elective surgery hidden waiting list.”

Acting emergency services Minister Anthony Carbines acknowledged the significant demand on Victoria’s health system.

“There’s no doubt that the Covid impact has led to a growth in those requiring elective surgery and that’s why we’ve allocated a $1.5bn Covid catch up program to boost the amount of elective surgery that’s available to Victorians,” he said.

“That program continues to grow every year so that more Victorians than ever before continue to get elective surgery.”

Mr Carbines said Victoria continued to lobby with the New South Wales government for the Commonwealth to provide more health funding.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the government couldn’t continue to blame Covid for elective surgery wait times.

“Victoria’s elective surgery waitlist was at record levels prior to Covid,” she said.

“Years of underinvestment and mismanagement by the Andrews government, and their decisions that led to the longest lockdowns in the country is why Victoria is the unenviable leader with the highest numbers of patients waiting for vital surgery.”