The release of Victoria’s elective surgery waiting list numbers confirm that Victoria’s health crisis is worsening.
The data reveals that for the January – March 2021 period, 14,000 Victorians were added to the elective surgery waitlist over the past 12 months with more than 65,000 Victorians waiting for access to treatment, an increase of 28.2 per cent.
Labor’s health crisis is being felt across the entire state.
Over the past three months, the elective surgery waitlist at Angliss Hospital has increased 48.2 per cent and at Casey Hospital by 13.7 per cent.
Over the past year, Footscray Hospital has faced a 71.4 per cent increase, Bendigo Hospital has increased by 64.9 per cent and St Vincent’s has increased by 62.4 per cent.
Category 1 elective surgery, surgical operations that are recommended to be undertaken within 30 days, has increased by 40 per cent state-wide in just three months.
The Liberal Nationals Back to Work plan identified that the increasing backlog of elective surgery will only lead to a larger and more unmanageable waitlist and that it would put further strain on Victoria’s health services. This could lead to avoidable long term health problems or even premature death.
The Liberal Nationals four point plan to reduce Victoria’s healthcare waitlists included greater transparency for referral to treatment times. This way all Victorians would know how long they will actually be waiting for elective surgery.
Victorians left languishing on the elective surgery waiting list can tell their story here: https://www.michaelobrien.com.au/victorias-elective-surgery-wait-list/
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Health, Georgie Crozier:
“Across the state Victorians are waiting in pain and agony, with many left waiting more than a year for medical appointments.
“As Health Minister, Daniel Andrews presided over cover-ups with waiting lists and investigations by the police fraud squad. Now as Premier, he’s presiding over a health crisis he promised would not occur.
“Three months ago this Labor Government was promising to reduce elective surgery waiting lists, today it’s been revealed they’ve gone backwards and more Victorians are waiting in pain.”
