Surgeries put on hold

Geelong hospital waiting list grows

BARWON Health will wind back all non-urgent surgery as the state government moves to step up protections against the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes after new figures reveal the waiting list has blown out during the pandemic, which also saw elective surgeries slashed earlier this year.

The number of people on Geelong hospital’s waiting list for elective surgery grew from 1508 on March 31 to 1689 on June 30.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos on Wednesday announced that to ensure hospitals have the beds, equipment and staff they need to continue the fight against coronavirus, the state government will pause all category 3 and non-urgent category 2 elective surgery in regional Victoria.

This announcement followed the recent decision to pause all category 3 and nonurgent category 2 elective surgery in metropolitan Melbourne.

Category 1 and urgent category 2 surgeries will continue to take place in regional Victoria. IVF activity will also be exempt from the new restrictions. No new non-urgent surgeries will be booked.

The pause will create additional capacity within the health system, which is particularly necessary in the event of large-scale aged care outbreaks, where in some cases, the best option for the patients is to transfer them out of aged care facilities and into hospitals.

Ms Mikakos said the government would reinstate an elective surgery blitz across the state as soon as it is safe to do so.

Barwon Health spokeswoman Kate Bibby said it was scaling back services and would only be undertaking urgent elective surgery, which is about 50 per cent of its usual elective surgery workload.

“Patients who have non-urgent elective surgery scheduled will be postponed,” she said.

“People who have surgery postponed should contact their GP for advice on managing their condition.”

Victorian Agency for Health Information data showed statewide the number of people waiting for elective surgery grew from 51,126 on March 31 to 56,039 on June 30.

The changes to surgery come as doctors reminded Victorians they were still able to access health care amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Continuity of Care Collaboration has released an open letter to remind the people of Victoria to continue to meet their important healthcare appointments.

The open letter, signed by more than 25 health organisations, comes after visits to general practice, allied health providers, emergency departments and pathology testing fell significantly during the first lockdown.

Health professionals harbour growing concern about the future health implications for Victorians of delayed diagnosis and poorly managed chronic diseases.

“Remember, there are four reasons that people in areas under Stage 3 restrictions can leave home; healthcare is one of them,” the open letter says.