South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health yesterday refused to answer questions on the closure after announcing on Friday the plans came at the suggestion of "surgeons themselves".

The claim has been met by confusion and anger among surgeons at the hospital, who say they were not consulted on the closure.

Yesterday Northern Illawarra Hospital Medical Staff Council chair Dr Katherine Brown said the information was incorrect.

"The suggestion did not originate from the surgeons. The medical staff council does not agree with that statement," she said.

Dr Brown said surgeons had been asked to participate in one of four working parties on the plans after NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca vowed on Tuesday to review the decision.

In Parliament this week, Mr Della Bosca came under fire from Liberal MLC John Ajaka, who warned the planned closures at Bulli could result in "wait list manipulation" as the region's other hospitals took on the additional surgeries.

"Wait list manipulation involves limiting the number of patients that a surgeon can put on an operating waiting list, making it appear that fewer patients are on it," Mr Ajaka said.

"In reality, they are simply being siphoned to another waiting list: the patients doctor's waiting list.

"My concern is with the increased pressure to keep waiting times down in places such as Wollongong and Shellharbour, more questionable tactics will be brought into play to keep numbers down."

Mr Della Bosca said the number of people waiting more than a year for elective surgery had dropped from 10,000 to less than 250 in the past few years.

He denied the figures had been manipulated.

"Nothing has changed in the way in which we calculate the waiting list." he said

The Mercury's questions to the area health service yesterday were met with the following statement: "The answers to these questions are the sort of information that will be provided to the NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Dr Andrew McDonald, when he examines the plans to cease surgery at Bulli Hospital in 2009."