There were nearly 200 fewer patients on the waiting list for elective surgery at Bendigo Health in the June quarter compared with March.

For the same period, the health care group treated 238 more elective surgery than the previous quarter.

Bendigo Health chief nursing and midwifery officer, David Rosaia said the reduction in waiting lists from April – June was due to a number of initiatives the health care group had introduced.

“These include the opening of the new Bendigo Hospital that has given us greater capacity in our theatres and the recruitment of additional surgeons in general surgery, orthopaedics and vascular.

“We are working with our smaller regional hospitals, particularly Castlemaine and Kyneton, to endeavour to treat patients in their local community as we have people on our elective surgery lists from across the Loddon Mallee region.

“It is also due to our professional and hardworking staff.”

There were 1076 patients on the Bendigo Health elective surgery waiting list at the end of June.

In three months, 1442 patients from the waiting list received surgery.

Mr Rosaia said the increase in surgery admissions was due to increased capacity, along with the addition of weekend surgery lists. 

“Bendigo Health has consistently experienced increased demand for our services,” he said.

“In the past five years alone we have seen a 40 percent increase in patient activity.”

He said it was important the health care group established relationships with smaller regional hospitals that could provide safe surgical procedures to be able to treat patients in their local community.

“This also assists us in managing our waiting lists,” he said.

Asked why the health care group was still short of the statewide target for semi-urgent elective surgery  patients, Mr Rosaia said category two patients formed the biggest numbers on health care group’s surgery waiting list.

“This is partially due to our increased capacity to treat patients,” he said.

“Often many category two surgeries can be non complex or non urgent and performed in smaller regional hospitals.”

Bendigo Health provided elective surgery to all urgent, or category one, patients within the benchmark 30 days from April – June.

But 75 per cent of category two patients underwent surgery within the benchmark 90 days during the same period.The statewide target is 80 per cent.

The proportion of category two patients receiving surgery within the stipulated time frame has improved since April – June 2017, when only 64 per cent of patients were treated within 90 days.

Victoria’s elective surgery waiting lists were at a record low at the end of the June quarter, the state government this week said, with 36,096 patients awaiting treatment.

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