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Waiting lists only half the story
The drop in the elective surgery waiting list numbers announced by the state government today is good news, but is only half the story, AMA Victoria President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal said today."News of a drop in the number of people on the elective surgery waiting list for public hospitals is great news, but the government needs to be up-front about the long waiting times to actually get on the waiting lists," Dr Haikerwal said.
"Doctors are telling us that some patients are waiting up to six months just to get an appointment for outpatient departments at public hospitals. It is only after they are seen that their names are recorded on the official waiting lists.
"I have been told by one surgeon working in the north-east of Melbourne that less urgent elective cases can count themselves lucky if they are treated within a year, many wait longer.
"These "unpublished" waiting times are obviously hiding the true waits being experienced by patients.
"The government has done a good job in attracting more nurses into the public hospital system and funding increases, but there is widespread agreement amongst doctors that more funding is still needed to make up for the savage cuts of the 1990s.
"If waiting lists are to be of any use in determining public demand then they must reflect the real numbers of people waiting," Dr Haikerwal said.
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