CANBERRA, Dec 6 (NNN-AAP) – Wait times for elective surgery in Australia have surged to the highest level on record, in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, new government data, shows.
According to a report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), today, elective surgery wait times in Australia hit the highest level on record in 2022-23, due to a backlog caused by disruptions to the health system during the pandemic.
The report found that as of 2022-23, 9.6 percent of patients spend longer than one year waiting to be admitted for elective surgery, up from 2.1 percent in 2018-19.
Elective surgery refers to procedures that are considered medically necessary but do not involve a medical emergency.
The report revealed that 735,500 Australians were admitted to public hospitals for elective surgeries from wait lists, between in the year to the end of June, 2023, up 18 percent from 2021-22, but lower than the 2018-19 figure, and that 855,500 patients were added to the waiting lists.
Fifty percent of patients were admitted for elective surgeries in 2022-23, within 49 days of being added to the waiting list, up from a median wait time of 40 days in 2021-22, and 41 days in 2018-19.
“Public hospitals made concerted efforts during 2020-21, and 2022-23, to work through procedures earlier delayed, when non-urgent surgeries were suspended. But because of these earlier delays, overall waiting times for people admitted for care have increased,” AIHW spokesperson, Clara Jellie, said in a media release.
The median time spent on waiting lists for patients who required hip replacements increased to 175 days in 2022-23, from 153 days in 2021-22, and 119 days in 2018-19 while those requiring surgery to repair their eardrum had a median waiting time of 283 days in 2022-23.
Septoplasty, surgery to straighten a deviated septum in the nose, had the longest median wait time of the 25 most common surgeries, at 365 days.– NNN-AAP
