The cancellation of over 1600 elective surgeries last month is another sign the McGowan Government are failing the patients of WA despite no COVID in the community.
The new figures, revealed this week in the Legislative Council by Hon Neil Thomson MLC show 1,137 elective surgeries were cancelled in metropolitan hospitals and 483 cancellations in regional hospitals for the month of November.
“Despite all the spin from the McGowan Government it’s concerning to see elective surgeries continue to be cancelled, with over 1,600 patients having their surgeries put on hold last month.
1051 elective surgeries were cancelled in the metropolitan area (and 353 surgeries cancelled in the WA Country Health Service) in August as revealed through the Budget Estimates.
“We have also seen the elective surgery waitlist increase by 50% since the McGowan Government came to office in 2017, and an additional 1,000 patients on the list in the last 12 months.
The most recent figures on the WA Health Website also indicate show there were 29,062 people on the waitlist in October 2021 compared to 28,088 in October 2020 – roughly 1,000 more Western Australians are now waiting for surgery compared to a year ago.
These figures also indicate 3,214 Western Australians waiting longer than clinically advised for their surgery (over boundary) compared to 2,484 in October 2020.
“That’s 730 Western Australians waiting for life-changing surgery.
“In short, more Western Australians are needing surgery and more people are not getting their surgery in the clinically advised time because of pressure on our hospitals.
“The situation is getting worse, not better, because of the McGowan Government’s mismanagement of the health system over the past four years.
“This is not an unforeseeable issue, but it is one that the WA Labor Government have been putting on the backburner for the past four years,” Ms Mettam said.
“These are not just numbers they are patients often in debilitating pain, who are putting their lives on hold while they await these essential procedures.”
