❓ Question on Notice regarding cardiothoracic surgery at Fiona Stanley Hospital, addressing surgeon availability, waitlist numbers and wait times, and patient deaths while on the waitlist. The hospital reports a full complement of surgeons, provides waitlist data, and acknowledges three deaths on the waitlist.
AnsweredQoN 1974Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the cardiothoracic surgery undertaken at Fiona Stanley Hospital, and I ask: (a) does the cardiothoracic unit have a full compliment of surgeons: (i) if no to (a), how many surgeons is it short; (b) how many patients are currently on the waitlist; (c) what is the average wait time to see a cardiothoracic surgeon as of today's date; and (d) how many patients have been removed from the waitlist due to death occurring before surgery could be performed, between 11 March 2023 and 19 March 2024?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
7 May 2024
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health
Response time
5 days
a) Yes.
i) Not applicable.
b) 189 as of 12 April 2024.
c) The median wait time for cardiothoracic surgery of Category 1 is 77 days, Category 2 is 151 days and Category 3 is 221 days.
d) Three patients have been removed from the waitlist between 11 March 2023 and 19 March 2024 with a reason code ‘deceased’. Where a patient is removed with a reason code ‘deceased’ the cause of death is unknown to Fiona Stanley Hospital. It is therefore not possible using existing data sources to attribute deaths which occur while a patient is waiting on elective surgery to the underlying condition requiring treatment.
i) Not applicable.
b) 189 as of 12 April 2024.
c) The median wait time for cardiothoracic surgery of Category 1 is 77 days, Category 2 is 151 days and Category 3 is 221 days.
d) Three patients have been removed from the waitlist between 11 March 2023 and 19 March 2024 with a reason code ‘deceased’. Where a patient is removed with a reason code ‘deceased’ the cause of death is unknown to Fiona Stanley Hospital. It is therefore not possible using existing data sources to attribute deaths which occur while a patient is waiting on elective surgery to the underlying condition requiring treatment.
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