Wednesday, 3 June 2026

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:38): (1340) My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, Graeme has a prolapsed bowel and irritable bowel syndrome. He needs colorectal surgery and has been assessed as a category 2 patient with a clinically recommended time for treatment of 90 days. He was placed on the waitlist on June 11, 2025 – a year ago. Graeme cannot leave the house, cannot go shopping and cannot go on a holiday. He cannot watch his grandchildren play sport. He needs to be near a toilet because he has no control over his bowels. His mental health is deteriorating, as is his quality of life. Graeme is just one of the 68,000 Victorians waiting for vital surgery, 8000 more than a year ago. Why is the health system failing to meet the demand for surgery, leaving thousands of people with their life on hold and their quality of life deteriorating?

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Health, Minister for Water) (12:39): Thank you, Ms Crozier, for that question. I am not aware of Graeme’s circumstances beyond what you have just put onto the record in question time. As I have said to you on a number of occasions now, if there are individual matters that you would like to discuss and raise with my office, please do so. In the event that there is assistance that can be provided by way of further information, then we will do that, subject of course to privacy and to patient confidentiality considerations that, as you well know, apply in the consideration of these matters. To that end, Ms Crozier, the remarks that I am about to make do not relate to Graeme or to his situation. I am therefore going to go directly to the question that you have put around the quarter three data. So far, Ms Crozier, we have delivered more than 160,000 planned surgeries, and we are on track to deliver 210,000 surgeries. It is 5655 more surgeries in fact than the same time last financial year. In Q3 planned surgery activity was lower than the last time last year, with 49,732 surgeries delivered and the waitlist increasing to 68,116. As I indicated in recent hearings, Ms Crozier, that I think you were in attendance for, this reflects a combination of things – population growth and changes to the demographic.

Georgie Crozier interjected.

Harriet SHING: Well, you can scoff all you want, Ms Crozier. I just want to be really clear, Ms Crozier. The things that we are doing are having an impact in managing the waitlist, but the waitlist itself applies from the moment that somebody gets a referral. They are on a waitlist from day one right through to the moment that the surgery occurs. We are meeting 100 per cent of category 1 surgeries within time. And you look at the fact that this is the only jurisdiction on the eastern seaboard to be doing this.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I have been listening to the minister’s response, and she has not addressed my question. I ask her to come back to it. Why is the system failing to meet the demand for surgery – like with Graeme, who is watching the minister answer this question, whose life is on hold, whose life is deteriorating? He is one of the 68,000 she has referred to, and I would ask you to bring her back to the specifics of the question I asked.

The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister is being relevant to the question.

Harriet SHING: Ms Crozier, as I have said, please get in touch and we will have a conversation about an individual matter. I am not going to get to my feet today and talk to that.

Georgie Crozier interjected.

Harriet SHING: Ms Crozier, in New South Wales the waitlist is 92,000, and when we are talking about Victoria and a comparative figure of 68,000, we know that the things that we are doing are having an impact because we are providing a range of options for care, whether that is the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department, whether that is secondary triage, Hospital in the Home, the virtual clinics, the community health centres, Chemist Care Now and the work on the women’s clinic and mobile services. This is the work that requires a unified health system, Ms Crozier. Under you, you are just going to close, shut and privatise because you do not care about patients – you never have.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:43): Minister, you are extraordinary. I think Graeme will be incredibly disappointed with your response, given the conversation I have had with him where he has been almost to tears about his situation. If you do not understand what I have just put into this house, you are failing every single Victorian. My question is: can you guarantee that no Victorian patient will die as a consequence of their condition deteriorating because they are waiting too long for treatment?

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Health, Minister for Water) (12:43): To Graeme, who is watching this question – and I am not sure whether Graeme is in the gallery or whether Graeme is watching this feed – Graeme, please contact my office, and we will provide you with assistance in understanding, as we should, what it is that you are experiencing so that we can provide you with that direct assistance by reference to your own patient privacy and the confidentiality requirements that apply to you under the patient records legislation. Ms Crozier, you should know better by now than to seek to create an opportunity for performance in this place when it relates to ongoing work to protect Victorians and save lives. All you do is close hospitals. All you do is go to war with workers.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, you and the minister know that this is not a chance to attack the opposition and debate. I am asking a very legitimate question here. I have explained the situation. I ask again: can the minister guarantee that no Victorian will die while they are waiting for surgery, as their life is deteriorating?

The PRESIDENT: I am racking my brain on previous rulings that were directly about a member seeking a guarantee from a minister and on rulings around the expectations and rulings around that. I will follow that up – I am just flagging that to the house – but I call the minister to the question.

Harriet SHING: Thanks, Ms Crozier. I just got a question from Mr Puglielli about protecting patient records, and I think you would be horrified if you got a question in this place about your own medical records, Ms Crozier. I will work alongside Graeme. Graeme, please get in touch with my office, and we will assist.