Surgery rates lead to longer wait lists

TARDY surgeons are the leading cause of elective surgery delays in Victorian hospitals.

An audit has found patients are having to wait longer and spend more, as demand for elective surgery in a growing and ageing population rockets.

An Auditor-General’s Office report found operating theatres sat idle for significant periods, due to late starts and early finishes.

On average, about a third of surgical sessions are wasted, increasing costs and waiting times.

In Victoria, more than 75 per cent of elective surgeries between July 2014 and December 2016 started more than 15 minutes late.

One in four delays was due to the surgeon’s lateness.

It was significantly more common than other causes, such as delays in transfers and under-prepared patients. Late anaesthetists accounted for 9 per cent of late starts; theatre staff were to blame in 3 per cent of cases.

Statewide, elective surgery demand jumped 12 per cent in the five years to 2015-16. More than 217,000 elective surgeries were done at public hospitals in the last financial year.

Victorian hospitals record an average productivity rate of 70 per cent during surgery, up to 15 per cent lower than benchmarks in other states.

St Vincent’s Hospital had the lowest productivity rate of Melbourne’s major hospitals (66 per cent).

More than a third of surgeries at Melbourne Health ran overtime, by an average of 40 minutes.

The average $2004-anhour cost of surgery could be reduced by hundreds of dollars if productivity rates rose to 80 per cent, the audit found.

“Higher utilisation rates generally result in more operations being performed within a surgical session for the same salary costs and reduced waiting lists and wait times for surgery,” the report found.

Victoria also lagged in operating on semi-urgent and nonurgent elective patients within recommended time frames.