Waiting list for elective surgery blows out by 43 per cent, new data shows

The number of Tasmanians on the elective surgery waiting list has increased in the last year – with those the sharpest rise among those with the greatest need.

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THE waiting list for the most urgent category of elective surgery has blown out by 43 per cent in a year.

There were 11,791 people waiting for elective surgery in the state’s hospitals in September last year, up from 10,808 a year before, the state’s quarterly Health Dashboard figures show.

The number of category 1 patients rose from 776 to 1,111.

These patients are supposed to be dealt with within 30 days. The average wait is 19 days – but some patients are waiting 99 days or even longer.

Category 2 patients are supposed to treated within 90 days, the median wait time is 158 days – nine weeks longer than in October 2019

And category three patients face a median wait of 523 days, which is an increase of nearly six months in just a year.

Public patients waiting for a knee replacement face an average wait of 431 days and those awaiting varicose vein surgery can expect to wait 560 days.

The number of patients on the list of outpatients waiting for an appointment has grown by 32 per cent in a year to 47,711 and the number on the oral health waiting list is up 20 per cent.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney said COVID-19 has disrupted surgery waiting lists during the year.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney at Launceston's COVID-19 testing clinic.

“Tasmanians can be assured we will continue to work hard on delivering health services, including for those who had their care impacted by the pandemic,’ she said.

“We thank our hardworking health workers for their significant efforts in supporting and caring for Tasmanians during a year that threw up a number of unique challenges in our health system.”

Ms Courtney said the state budget had delivered additional resources for the health system.

“We expect additional surgeries to be performed this year, thanks to a $45.5 million injection into elective surgery over the next 18 months, on top of the $15 million federal funding commitment we negotiated to bring forward,” she said.

“This funding will allow our system to deliver an estimated 8,500 additional surgeries, over and above our ordinary volume surgeries, and while these are rolled out we will continue to provide whatever support we can for Tasmanian patients.”

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the result was concerning.

Greens leader Cassy O'Connor speaks to the media in Hobart.

“The Liberals have underfunded health ever since they took office in 2014. The results of this are plain to see with the elective surgery waitlist now above 11,700 people – a shocking increase of 1,200 since the same time a year ago.

“These statistics tell a painful story of human suffering. More Tasmanians are not just waiting in pain for months for critical surgery, but are having their lives potentially put at risk by the delay.

“In the past year, 134 people ended up requiring emergency surgery after they weren’t seen by a health professional in time from the waiting list. That’s completely unacceptable.

“At the last election, the Liberals promised that, by the end of this term of government, 90 per cent of elective surgery patients would be seen on time.

“That figure now sits at just 50 per cent — truly an indictment on this government.

“The Liberals cannot blame these failings on COVID. These statistics have been going in the wrong direction for much longer than the pandemic.”

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