The wait list for Illawarra residents whose surgery is overdue has been slashed by more than half in the space of a year, as the health district plays catch-up after COVID-19.
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Between December 2022 and December 2023, the number of people waiting longer than clinically recommended for a planned surgery has dropped from 932 to 355.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District Executive Director of Clinical Operations Margaret Martin said this was the result of a concerted effort from staff.
"I would like to thank our staff and teams who work incredibly hard to ensure people on the planned surgery wait list whose surgeries are overdue receive their procedures as soon as possible," she said.
"The district's hospitals continue to optimise available theatre time for planned surgery, adopting innovative models of care that enable more patients to receive their surgery sooner, as well as supporting ongoing partnerships with local private facilities to undertake public planned surgery."
The result was revealed in the latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report, which shows there were 3,240 planned surgeries performed from October to December 2023.
"Throughout the quarter, the majority of all planned surgeries were performed on time (80.6 per cent), an 8.8 percentage point improvement compared with the same quarter in 2022," Ms Martin said.
"Nearly all urgent planned surgeries (99.4 per cent) were performed on time."
For the fifth quarter in a row, non-urgent planned surgery in the Illawarra Shoalhaven performed on time increased, to 76.2 per cent.
This was an improvement of 21.6 percentage points compared with the same quarter in 2022.
Ms Martin said the time each patient has to wait is individually determined based on a clinical assessment of their condition by their specialist, who gives the patient an urgency category.
"Patients who feel their condition may have deteriorated while waiting for their surgery are encouraged to contact their treating doctor who can review their condition and place them in a higher urgency category if appropriate," she said.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
