Tuesday, 16 November 2021

Elective surgery waiting lists

Ms CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (23:24): (1640) My adjournment matter this evening is to the Minister for Health, and it is in relation to the bans that are still applied in some hospitals across Victoria regarding elective surgery. Just last week we got the figures, with record numbers of Victorians that are now on the elective surgery waitlist—67 596—and of course we had record numbers on the elective surgery waitlist prior to the COVID-related suspensions of surgery last year. So the situation has only got worse over the last 20 months, and these people are waiting in pain. Their conditions are worsening, they are becoming more debilitated and their quality of life is deteriorating. It is critically important that they have this urgent surgery; it is vital surgery that they need. Elective surgery is not, as some people seem to think, cosmetic; it is surgery to do with hips and knees, joint replacements, grommets, carpal tunnel and cataracts—a whole range of things that are vital and will impact on somebody’s ability to have a good quality of life.

But some hospitals across Victoria still have a 50 per cent ban, and these are non-critical hospitals that do not have intensive care unit beds. They cannot cater for COVID patients, and nor will those staff be taken into a hospital where they need to be. It seems just absolutely ridiculous that these bans are applied. In New South Wales they have never restricted non-urgent elective surgery in non-critical hospitals. So the action I am seeking is that the minister immediately lift the limit of having just 50 per cent operating in these hospitals to at least 75 per cent, if not 100 per cent, and he needs to come out and tell the public when he is going to do this.