❓ Ms Mettam questions the Minister for Health about the increase in elective surgery waitlists, particularly for urgent cases. The Minister responds by highlighting the impact of COVID-19 and population growth, while also outlining government initiatives and investments aimed at reducing wait times.
AnsweredQoN 148Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Elective surgery—Waitlists
148. Ms Libby Mettam to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the 288%
blowout since March 2017 in the number of elective surgery patients waiting
longer than the clinically recommended timeframe, including one in five
patients who are waiting beyond the clinically recommended 30 days for the most
urgent category 1 surgeries.
(1) Has the minister's department put forward
recommendations that could help reduce the waitlist?
(2) If yes, what are these?
(3) If no to (1), what is the projection for
elective surgery waitlists over the next six months?
148. Ms Libby Mettam to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the 288%
blowout since March 2017 in the number of elective surgery patients waiting
longer than the clinically recommended timeframe, including one in five
patients who are waiting beyond the clinically recommended 30 days for the most
urgent category 1 surgeries.
(1) Has the minister's department put forward
recommendations that could help reduce the waitlist?
(2) If yes, what are these?
(3) If no to (1), what is the projection for
elective surgery waitlists over the next six months?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I thank the member for the
question, which gives me a chance to talk about the work we are doing in this
area. The member will recall that during the COVID pandemic, there was a
massive disruption to the delivery of elective surgery. Since the peak times,
our strategy has seen a reduction of 40% in over-boundary cases. That is the
reality of the plan we have in place now. It is starting to have a positive
impact on bringing those numbers down.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Carry on, minister.
Ms Meredith Hammat: I refer to COVID because it is
part of the context; during COVID, we stopped delivering elective surgery. The
fact is that the work we have been doing has been having a positive impact. I
have outlined it in this place in the past.
Part of the context as
well is the fact that the population is growing. In the last few years, we have
had the equivalent population growth of the whole of the Northern Territory moving
to our state. We have an ageing population, which increases the demand and
complexity. In response, we have asked health service providers to look at what
strategies they can put in place to reduce elective surgery wait times, and
that includes weekend work and twilight procedures. In the 2023–24
midyear review, we invested an additional $40 million to keep building on the momentum we had put in place. As a result of those
investments and reforms, we have reduced over-boundary cases by 40% since their
peak. This shows that our investment and our plan are working.
question, which gives me a chance to talk about the work we are doing in this
area. The member will recall that during the COVID pandemic, there was a
massive disruption to the delivery of elective surgery. Since the peak times,
our strategy has seen a reduction of 40% in over-boundary cases. That is the
reality of the plan we have in place now. It is starting to have a positive
impact on bringing those numbers down.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Carry on, minister.
Ms Meredith Hammat: I refer to COVID because it is
part of the context; during COVID, we stopped delivering elective surgery. The
fact is that the work we have been doing has been having a positive impact. I
have outlined it in this place in the past.
Part of the context as
well is the fact that the population is growing. In the last few years, we have
had the equivalent population growth of the whole of the Northern Territory moving
to our state. We have an ageing population, which increases the demand and
complexity. In response, we have asked health service providers to look at what
strategies they can put in place to reduce elective surgery wait times, and
that includes weekend work and twilight procedures. In the 2023–24
midyear review, we invested an additional $40 million to keep building on the momentum we had put in place. As a result of those
investments and reforms, we have reduced over-boundary cases by 40% since their
peak. This shows that our investment and our plan are working.
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