Liberal Leader Steven Marshall promises $40m to cut wait time for elective surgery in South Australia

WAITING times for elective surgery for South Australians would fall under a $40 million election pledge, the Liberal Party says.

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WAITING times for elective surgery for South Australians would fall under a $40 million election pledge, the Liberal Party says.

Liberal Leader Steven Marshall has promised funding in the two years following the state election on March 17 to spare patients from the current “dangerous and inconvenient” wait time.

He said the money would cover more staff and beds to reduce the number of people waiting for non-emergency surgeries such as colonoscopies, eye surgery, orthopaedics and urology.

It would also enable the reopening of operating theatres at the former Repatriation General Hospital site to ease pressure on the statewide system, Mr Marshall said.

“The overdue waiting list has more than tripled during the last year, jumping from 541 this time last year to 1700 patients today,” he said.

“Thee will always be people on elective surgery wait lists, the question is how long they’ve been there for and whether they’ve gone past the clinical guideline

Liberal health spokesman Stephen Wade added that people made to wait too long for elective surgeries were put at risk of disability or even death.

“Elective surgery is not unimportant, it’s very important. It’s just that it can be scheduled (whereas) emergency surgery has to be done straight away,” he said.

“It’s not uncommon for people now to have to wait more than a year.”

Asked how he would fund the promise, Mr Marshall said he would “not be cutting the health budget”.

“This is a massive priority area,” he said.

Originally published as Liberal Leader Steven Marshall promises $40m to cut wait time for elective surgery in South Australia