NT hospital wait times: John Atherton, Ross Sounas reveal wait time stories for needed treatments

After more than two decades of proudly calling the Top End home, a cancer diagnosis and the Territory’s “slow and dragging” health system has a local considering leaving. Read the full patient testimonies.

Generic Imagery of Royal Darwin Hospital. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

After more than two decades of proudly calling the Top End home, a cancer diagnosis and the Territory’s “slow and dragging” health system has John Atherton seriously considering heading south for the first time.

Now in remission, Mr Atherton, 53, said his experience with NT’s hospitals had forced him to consider moving interstate.

“For treatment, I’ve tried to make appointments where I get told ‘we can’t do anything for three months,” he said.

“I’ve got stage four lung cancer and [I am experiencing] lot of suffering, and I require these appointments ASAP to get this sorted.

“Going interstate [for treatment] hasn’t happened yet, but it’s an option that I’m going to have to look at.”

Mr Atherton’s testimony comes after data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed Territorians wait more than a year to have non-urgent elective surgeries – an increase of 54 per cent since 2016.

“[The system] has gone backwards, absolutely,” he said.

“For my family, it’s been a real low spot; me going through this process and the delays.”

Opposition health spokesman Bill Yan said the Territory’s surgery stats are “chilling”. Picture: Floss Adams.

Darwin-based patient Ross Sounas, 38, said his wait time experiences had also affected his family.

“I sustained a serious injury where I had to wait months more than I should have needed to – it put my family and my work in limbo, I should have just flown to Adelaide to get it done,” he said.

“It would have saved me money in fact, because I would have been treated sooner and returned to work more quickly.”

Mr Sounas said “expensive” private health was his best option.

“It’s far more expensive, but the wait times are just that bit better,” he said.

“There are still problems though, it’s still not how it should be, especially when I compare it to [my previous home] Queensland.”

Opposition health spokesman Bill Yan said the “worrying testimonies” did not surprise him.

“When you look at the ability for the Territory to provide surgeries, what we’re seeing is a decrease in that capability since 2016,” he said.

“We’ve seen our ability to provide surgeries drop by 37 per cent (since 2016) whereas all the other states and Territories have actually increased their capability by over 81 per cent – so that’s quite chilling.”

Mr Yan cited understaffing as a key contributor to the backlog of patients.

“[The Territory] has got the equipment, but we don’t have the people to drive the equipment,” he said.

“There was equipment in Darwin to do pregnancy scans but they didn’t have the capacity to deliver, so women were travelling to Katherine to get those scans and sometimes travelling interstate, so it’s great to say ‘I’ve got 10 cars’ but unless you’ve got 10 people to drive those cars, they’re worthless.”

Mr Yan said medical staff were also suffering in their workplaces.

“I also know there’s quite a lot of nursing staff who are burnt out, who are tired and worn out because of the hours and requirements that they’ve been pushed into in the public system,” he said.

“[They] are moving across to the private hospital because of the better working conditions, the conditions of service are better, and the ability to provide service is better.”

Health Minister Selena Uibo said the Government were addressing patient backlog. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

Health Minister Selena Uibo told NT News efforts were underway to improve the health system.

“We are doing this through a $2 billion health budget, which is aimed at reducing wait times and seeing patients faster,” she said.

“The Territory Labor Government investing in our health system – there is currently a $59 million mental inpatient unit under construction at Royal Darwin Hospital.”

Ms Uibo confirmed surgery backlog was a focus of NT Health.

“NT Health is currently progressing surgical recovery plans to help manage the backlog of elective surgeries,” she said.

“This includes increasing operating theatre access, procuring additional surgical equipment and actively recruiting specialist staff.”

The story summary was created with the assistance of AI technology (PaLM2) then edited and approved for publication by an editor.