Questions without notice and ministers statements
Health system
Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:01): My question is to the Minister for Health. With new government data showing that 7700 Victorians were removed from the elective surgery waitlist from April to June, just some of the 26 000 people who have dropped off that list over the past year due to—
Ms Allan: On a point of order, Speaker, I am sure the Leader of the Opposition would appreciate the Minister for Health being able to respond to his question. I think she will be in the chamber shortly, so if we could just give one more minute. I think the bells caught us—
Mr Walsh: Talk amongst ourselves.
Ms Allan: Yes, can we do that? Thank you for your indulgence.
The SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition.
Mr GUY: Thank you, Speaker. I thank the Deputy Premier for her assistance in this matter. It is most unique.
My question is to the Minister for Health. New government data shows that 7700 Victorians were removed from the elective surgery waitlist from April to June this year, just some of the 26 000 people who have dropped off that list over the past year due to a number of reasons, including surgery being declined, the patient seeking treatment interstate or, tragically, having died waiting. Can the minister inform us just how many of those 26 000 Victorians were removed from this waiting list over the past 12 months because, tragically, they have passed away waiting for their surgery that did not happen?
Ms THOMAS (Macedon—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:03): I thank the member for his question, but I need to draw his attention to some errors and assumptions in his question that need to be challenged. The first is that this is not new data. What the Leader of the Opposition has done is just add up existing data that is available in our quarterly reporting that is of course delivered by the Victorian Agency for Health Information. Unlike those on the other side of the house, our government is committed to transparency in reporting the health performance data in a transparent and accessible way. This data has now been available for quite some time, and it would appear that the Leader of the Opposition has gone and got someone in his office to add up this readily available data and come here today as if it is something new. Well, there is nothing new in that. The second point that I need to make is that here in Victoria, and indeed if the Leader of the Opposition had a closer look he would learn, we are very proud to be able to treat those category 1 patients—that is, the sickest patients on the list. Almost 100 per cent of all of those patients are treated within the clinically recommended guideline, which is within 30 days of surgery.
Mr Guy: Speaker, on a point of order, on relevance, as the minister says she is committed to transparency on reporting. Those figures do report, as the minister stated, the point that I asked her in the question, that is, to outline just how many of the figures the minister has referred to include people who have tragically passed away waiting for surgery that never occurred. I ask if the minister could be brought back to answering that straightforward question.
The SPEAKER: A point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. The Minister for Health was being relevant.
Ms THOMAS: Thank you very much, Speaker. I might point out that I am certainly not aware that the Leader of the Opposition is also the coroner. The cause of death of anyone on a waitlist in a hospital is a matter for the coroner. The point that I made is the most critically ill patients, those who are category 1, are treated within the clinically recommended guideline.
Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:05): Of the 87 000 Victorians currently sitting on the elective surgery waitlist, how many Victorians does the government then forecast may tragically die over the next 12 months because their vital surgery will not happen in time to save their lives?
Ms THOMAS (Macedon—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:06): I will make the point yet again: category 1 patients, the sickest patients, requiring planned surgery are treated within the clinically recommended guideline for almost 100 per cent of all patients. There is a handful of patients who may not be treated within that time frame but in fact have their surgery on day 31 or 32 or 33 for a handful of exceptional reasons. The suggestions that the Leader of the Opposition is making are not founded in fact. They are scaremongering and they are playing politics, where we will put patients first.