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Action needed to reduce elective surgery waiting times
AMA Victoria President Dr Mark Yates says the Bracks Government is withholding waiting list data from the public which will prove the urgent need for more beds for elective surgery across the state.
Dr Yates said the figures recently published in the media on elective surgery waiting times suggest the waiting list is continuing to grow, and does not even show what is happening in the “hidden” waiting list.
“The government does not tell us of the many thousands of Victorians who face a long wait to see a specialist so they can be assessed to get on the “official” surgery waiting list,” Dr Yates said.
The State Government’s six monthly Your Hospital document, expected to be made public last week, is yet to be released by the Health Minister. This document details numbers on the waiting list and time taken to treat people.
“Doctors are telling us there is a major problem. They are frustrated and concerned that they are continually forced to tell their patients their surgery has once again been postponed and of the long wait they must endure,” Dr Yates said.
“It seems like the government is hiding bad news. What it should be doing is admitting there is a problem and then providing real solutions to the elective surgery waiting list problem.
“It is very simple, if the government wants to reduce surgery waiting times, we need more beds dedicated for elective surgery and to attract more doctors to work in Victorian public hospitals.”
Dr Yates said the recent proposal by the state government to fast-track long waiting patients was a quick-fix and not a long-term solution.
“Doctors treat people on the basis of the most urgent cases first. To put patients with non-urgent conditions ahead of those with more urgent needs, just to produce a statistical decrease in waiting times for elective surgery, is inappropriate and effectively asking doctors to support a strategy which is contrary to our professional code of ethics.
“People should not be waiting months and in some cases years for surgery. However, this fast-tracking strategy is a band-aid solution which will not reduce waiting times in the long-term. The state government must invest in real solutions, such as more beds.
“The move to rush through these long wait non-urgent patients is a blatant attempt to massage the figures, without addressing any of the real issues.
Dr Yates said the waiting list figures were not even a real indication of how bad waiting times in Victoria are, due to gaps in the reporting of figures.
“The state government currently chooses not to monitor and report the time it takes patients to see a specialist, who can then put them on the waiting list for elective surgery. In many cases this can be many months, adding considerably to the waiting period.
“This is the hidden waiting list where many thousands of Victorians await surgery.
“If the Bracks Government truly believes elective surgery is operating efficiently, then they would monitor and report these waiting times as well,” Dr Yates said.
“Victorians are not being told the whole truth about the state of our health care system and it’s time the Bracks Government came clean and took action,” Dr Yates said.
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