CHS outpatient waitlists show no improvement
Latest waitlist figures for outpatient procedures at Canberra Health Services have shown no sign of reduction.
The latest figures released to the Canberra Liberals by the Minister for Health shows.
In the year to October 2023 the waitlist for specialist appointments has increased by 18 per cent up to 35,292.
79 per cent of initial appointments had not occurred within clinically recommended timeframes up 11 per cent to 27,780.
patients waiting longer than recommended jumped 30 per cent for general surgery, 52 per cent for cardiology, 63 per cent for paediatrics, 70 per cent for neurology, 115 per cent for vascular surgery and 309 per cent for Oral-Maxillofacial surgery.
Shadow Minister for Health and Deputy Opposition Leader Leanne Castley said that, in October 2022, 724 semi-urgent cardiology patients were waiting longer than the clinically recommended 90 days for an initial appointment. By October 2023 there were 1,300 and the average wait time is now over seven months.
“While a few specialties have made inroads into their waitlists in the last 6 months, it is unacceptable that so many ill Canberrans have to wait so long, often in pain and discomfort, for specialist appointments,” Ms Castley said.
“Meanwhile non-urgent patients are waiting around four years on average to see a urologist, orthopaedic surgeon, dermatologist or ear, nose and throat specialist.
“Many Canberrans simply decide to go interstate, go private or just give up and that is not good enough for the nation’s capital.
“The Labor-Greens Government is prioritising its $4 billion tram extension over our public hospitals – and Canberrans are paying the price.”
Ms Castley said the Minister had also failed to meet her goal of regularly reporting the outpatient waiting lists for medical specialist clinics across all speciality areas in “this calendar year.”
“The Minister claimed waitlists would be publicly available and regularly updated for Canberrans to see, but more than a year after the $327m Digital Health Record went live we still have manually compiled waitlist figures and no dashboard in sight.
“Without access to this up to date, crucial performance data, how can executives, clinicians and the Minister make informed policy and staffing decisions, and how can ill Canberrans see how long they might have to wait for their appointment?”
