A load on the mind

JOHN Woolnough is breathing a sigh of relief — but also feels anxious about being given a specialist appointment at the Royal Hobart Hospital after a three-and-a-half-year wait.

In 2013, the Granton man started to notice changes in his behaviour and was having problems at work.

“In the mornings, I’d be a bit wobbly and feel like a drunk person,” Mr Woolnough said.

After a scan revealed several cysts in his brain, Mr Woolnough said he was referred by his local GP for a neurological specialist appointment at the hospital on December 9, 2013.

It would be bad enough waiting all this time if it was a toe, let alone your brain

A letter arrived soon after to confirm he had been placed on the waiting list, but it did not give a time frame, he said.

In late March this year, he received a letter informing him he had been give an “urgent” appointment for May 17.

Mr Woolnough said the letter had brought with it a sense of both relief and anxiety.

“They say it’s urgent so you go to bed at night time and worry,” he said.

“For three and a half years I’ve heard nothing and all of a sudden it’s urgent. It would be bad enough waiting all this time if it was a toe, let alone your brain, which is the engine of the whole body.”

Tasmania’s elective surgery waiting list is at its lowest level on record, but the number of people waiting to see a specialist after referral from their GP — and who may then require surgery — continues to grow.

The latest data for the outpatients wait — or pre-waiting list — shows it has grown from 26,533 in April 2015 to 29,063 in December 2016.

The indicative waiting time to see a neurosurgeon in the state’s south is 456 days for the urgent category, 1492 days — just over four years — for semi-urgent and 1929 days — more than five years — for non-urgent.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said yesterday he could not comment on individual cases.

However, he said, “clinical decisions about caring for our patients are best made by doctors and nurses about how we provide timely care”.

“The good news for Tasmanians who are worried is the waiting list is at a record low,” he said.

The Tasmanian Health Service is focused on reducing specialist waiting lists and extra clinics are ongoing.

Emergency cases will be dealt with within the prescribed time frames, a spokesman said.

jessica.howard@news.com.au