Arabic version: تاسمانيا تعدّل هدف انتظار العمليات الجراحية الاختيارية
According to ABC News, Tasmania’s Health Department has set a new performance target that would allow up to 30 per cent of elective surgery patients to wait longer than their clinically recommended treatment time. The target, in the department’s annual service plan, means at least 70 per cent of patients should receive surgery within the recommended timeframe. About 9,500 people are on the state’s elective surgery waitlist.
The Australian Medical Association Tasmania criticised the revised measure. Its president, Dr Meg Creely, said the target was too low and that the change in measurement made comparisons with the previous year difficult. Last year’s plan set a numerical target of no more than 270 patients waiting beyond the recommended timeframe, rather than a percentage. Dr Creely said the change represented a major difference and made it harder for health practitioners and the public to understand health-service performance.
A Health Department spokesperson said the revised target reflected increased demand for elective surgery, service capacity and operating conditions. The spokesperson cited ongoing bed-availability problems linked to a lack of aged-care and NDIS placements for Tasmanians. The department did not answer an ABC question on whether the AMA’s comparison between the former target and the new 30 per cent figure was accurate.
July data showed 59 per cent of elective surgeries were delivered within clinically recommended timeframes, down from 64 per cent in July the previous year. For category 1, or urgent, surgery, 65 per cent of patients were admitted within the recommended 30 days in July. The new plan seeks to have 95 per cent of category 1 procedures completed on time. It also aims to complete more than 21,500 elective surgeries in 2026-27, about 400 fewer than last year, while listing a target of zero patients waiting for surgery from before 30 June 2024.
