Surgery Wait Times Soar to Covid-era Levels
After two years in office, the Minns Labor Government is sending the NSW health system backwards – with patients waiting longer, nurses picketing Parliament, hospital psychiatrists resigning, and doctors threatening their first strike since 1984.
New data released today by the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) confirms the system is under unprecedented strain with 802,697 Emergency Department attendances, and 67,902 patients leaving without or before completing treatment in the December quarter – an increase of 6% compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
Elective surgery waitlists have also blown out to near the COVID peak with 100,235 waiting for surgery – up 13.1% on the same quarter last year.
Shadow Minister for Regional Health Gurmesh Singh said the Minns Government wasn’t prioritising health services in regional NSW.
“Chris Minns is busy fighting healthcare workers when he should be focused on delivering better health services for regional NSW,” said Mr Singh.
“The latest data shows that the time it takes for an ambulance to reach the highest priority P1A cases was continuing to go backwards, with only 52.4% arriving in 10 minutes in rural areas compared with 67% in urban areas.”
Key figures:
https://www.nswnationals.org.au/two-years-of-labour-surgery-waiting-lists-blow-out-to-covid-era-levels/