❓ Opposition questions the Health Minister about surgery waitlist management, alleging deceptive practices and a 'ruthless culling campaign'. The Minister defends the process as necessary to maintain accurate lists and highlights improvements in wait times under the current government.
AnsweredQoN 367Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SURGERY WAITLIST
I refer to the minister’s claims that the surgery waitlist continues to fall and the implication that this is because more surgeries are being performed. (1) Given that since the government came to power in 2001 at least 41 223 people have been removed from the surgery waiting list without having any surgery, how can the minister in good conscience continue to create this false impression and deceive the people of Western Australia? (2) Can the minister guarantee that those patients who have been removed because they no longer require surgery, or have been victims of a ruthless culling campaign like the one the opposition exposed yesterday in relation to orthopaedic outpatients at Royal Perth Hospital, will be given an opportunity to be reinstated if they still need surgery? Mr J.A. McGINTY
I refer to the minister’s claims that the surgery waitlist continues to fall and the implication that this is because more surgeries are being performed. (1) Given that since the government came to power in 2001 at least 41 223 people have been removed from the surgery waiting list without having any surgery, how can the minister in good conscience continue to create this false impression and deceive the people of Western Australia? (2) Can the minister guarantee that those patients who have been removed because they no longer require surgery, or have been victims of a ruthless culling campaign like the one the opposition exposed yesterday in relation to orthopaedic outpatients at Royal Perth Hospital, will be given an opportunity to be reinstated if they still need surgery? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
(1) Given that since the government came to power in 2001 at least 41 223 people have been removed from the surgery waiting list without having any surgery, how can the minister in good conscience continue to create this false impression and deceive the people of Western Australia? (2) Can the minister guarantee that those patients who have been removed because they no longer require surgery, or have been victims of a ruthless culling campaign like the one the opposition exposed yesterday in relation to orthopaedic outpatients at Royal Perth Hospital, will be given an opportunity to be reinstated if they still need surgery? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
(2) Can the minister guarantee that those patients who have been removed because they no longer require surgery, or have been victims of a ruthless culling campaign like the one the opposition exposed yesterday in relation to orthopaedic outpatients at Royal Perth Hospital, will be given an opportunity to be reinstated if they still need surgery? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
(1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
(1) Given that since the government came to power in 2001 at least 41 223 people have been removed from the surgery waiting list without having any surgery, how can the minister in good conscience continue to create this false impression and deceive the people of Western Australia? (2) Can the minister guarantee that those patients who have been removed because they no longer require surgery, or have been victims of a ruthless culling campaign like the one the opposition exposed yesterday in relation to orthopaedic outpatients at Royal Perth Hospital, will be given an opportunity to be reinstated if they still need surgery? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
(2) Can the minister guarantee that those patients who have been removed because they no longer require surgery, or have been victims of a ruthless culling campaign like the one the opposition exposed yesterday in relation to orthopaedic outpatients at Royal Perth Hospital, will be given an opportunity to be reinstated if they still need surgery? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
(1)-(2) I will deal with the final question first - the so-called ruthless culling campaign. Two thousand patients who had outpatient appointments organised in the orthopaedic clinic of Royal Perth Hospital were written to and asked whether they still required the appointment with an orthopaedic specialist. Three hundred people - 30 per cent of those who have responded to date - have written back that they no longer require their appointments. When 300 people say that for a variety of reasons they no longer wish to have their appointments, I would have thought it made eminent sense to make sure that the lists are up to date and that people who are listed as waiting for a specialist appointment do in fact want that appointment, rather than retain a bloated list of people who demonstrably do not want an appointment with a specialist and no longer wish to proceed. I made the point yesterday that, in our experience, approximately the same proportion of people, when given a date for their elective surgery, turned around when faced with the scalpel and said that they no longer wished to have the surgery. It surprised me that patients who had been given a date for surgery within the next month or two said that they no longer wished to proceed and wanted their names taken off the list. It happens at both levels. Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr T. Buswell : Where is the data you are talking about? Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : It is produced regularly; I can give the member copy of it this afternoon if he would like. Firstly, 30 per cent of people who have been placed on lists to see specialists in outpatient clinics, when asked if they still wanted their appointments, responded that they wanted their names taken off the list. They volunteered to do that; they were under no coercion. There was no culling; it was simply a matter of keeping the lists up to date. Secondly, when confronted with the actual offer of surgery on a particular date at a particular hospital, about 30 per cent of people in the various studies that have been done turned around and said that they no longer wished to have that surgery, even though they were on the list and scheduled for it. There has scarcely been a culling of the list. I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
I go back to the point I made yesterday during question time: 22 000 Western Australians were waiting an average of five months for elective surgery during the time of the previous coalition government. The figure is now under about 12 800 - just over half the number under that previous government. The government has made it a priority. Not only are there fewer people on the list, but they are not waiting five months as they did when the Liberal Party was in power; they are waiting three months. We still need to do a lot more. I would like to drive that figure down to fewer than 10 000. I want to make sure that everybody on the list gets their surgery within clinically acceptable times. We are very close to achieving that, and we will continue to push for it. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Roe and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.