Share your experience with surgery waitlists

The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has launched an online survey for people across the region to share their experiences on surgery waitlists.

Despite record health spending and repeated promises, the state’s health system performance continues to worsen, with over 60,000 people currently waiting for surgery.

Ms Cleeland said the survey would allow people in her community to share just how impactful these delays had been on their lives.

“Too many Victorians are waiting too long for to be cared for, particularly in regional areas,” Ms Cleeland said.

“Every single person on these waiting lists has a story to tell about deferred care and unnecessary time waiting in agony for life-changing surgery.

“This survey is an important step to ensure their voices are heard and urgent action is taken to fix our health system.”

Data released by the Victorian Agency for Health Information (VAHI) last month revealed that Victorians continue to face increasing wait times for planned surgeries and emergency treatment:

• Median wait time for Category 2 surgeries has risen to 62 days (up from 54 days), with over 7,150 patients missing treatment within the recommended timeframe.
• Category 3 surgeries now have a median wait of 119 days (up from 102 days), affecting more than 1,320 patients.
• Overall, wait times for planned surgeries jumped 18 per cent in the last quarter.

“The Victorian public hospital system is broken, and Victorians are not able to get the care they need when they need it most,” Ms Cleeland said.

“Labor cannot manage money, cannot manage our health system and Victorians are paying the price.”

The survey is available to be signed here: Have your say on surgery waitlists and hospital wait times Survey