Page 1997 - Week 07 - Thursday, 13 August 2020
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pandemic has had an impact during 2019-20 and it has seen a disruption of that improvement pattern. This is obviously not unique to the ACT and it is being experienced nationwide. The decision to suspend elective surgeries was not taken lightly but was obviously necessary, given the uncertainty about the impact of the pandemic and what it would mean for the capacity of our hospital system, the numbers of staff available and those sorts of matters.
Since the resumption of elective surgeries on 28 April, the government has committed $22 million in funding to prioritise delayed elective surgeries. This is a clear example of how seriously the government takes the ACT’s elective surgery pressures and is continually working to improve waitlists. Waiting for elective surgery can be a burden for individuals and we take seriously that these surgeries, for many, can be life changing. Whilst they are not considered emergency surgeries, they are surgeries a medical professional has deemed clinically necessary and, therefore, we want to ensure that every person can get access to the care that they need.
As we know, in every hospital we use a triage system to sort patients according to urgency and clinical need. Each triage category has a desirable day target attached to it. I am sure members know these figures: category 1 is referred to as urgent and admission is desirable within 30 days; category 2 is referred to as semi-urgent and admission is desirable within 90 days; and category 3 or non-urgent is desirable within 12 months.
The ACT’s performance in regard to elective surgery patients who are admitted within clinically recommended time frames for all categories for the 2018-19 financial year was 83 per cent. This was an increase on the previous year’s result of 79 per cent. This demonstrates improvement and progress and this has occurred due to the government’s dedication to the hospital and healthcare system and also to the dedication of our staff, who are working to ensure that we offer the best health care we can here in the territory.
Even with the disruption of COVID and consequential suspension of elective surgeries, the ACT’s performance for category 1 elective surgeries rose in 2019-20 to 97 per cent, from 96 per cent the previous year, and this means that the vast majority of urgent patients for elective surgery have been seen on time. It is clear that the COVID restrictions on elective surgery have adversely impacted on the performance of category 2 surgeries. In the 2019-20 year 64 per cent were seen within the clinically recommended time and in the previous year it was 75 per cent. Category 3 has maintained a similar performance from the year prior.
I think the government has been quite transparent regarding this data. It is of course publicly reported and the additional investment has been prioritised to catch up on delayed surgeries. I think the minister has been also quite upfront about the issues that have arisen there.
Canberra Health Services will establish a catch-up plan to meet the challenges presented by the backlog which has arisen from the month’s suspension. I think it is accurate that there is growing demand for elective surgery. I do not think anybody disputes that. That can be seen quite clearly in the numbers. Each year the number of
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