Some patients overdue for treatment have still not received their surgeries after more than 400 days on the Royal Adelaide Hospital waiting list, InDaily can reveal.
Last week’s list of overdue elective surgeries at the hospital, obtained by InDaily, shows that one patient has been waiting for nearly 550 days for surgery which should have been performed within a year.
Seven other patients who were due to be treated within a year have been waiting more than 400 days.
A further seven patients who were due for surgery within 90 days – most awaiting the removal of prostate cancers – have been waiting for more than 200 days.
The most serious backlogs at the RAH are in the urology and plastics surgical units – each have 35 patients overdue for surgery. The ophthalmology unit has 13 patients overdue.
Yesterday, InDaily revealed that the number of patients overdue for elective surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital has more than tripled over the past two years.
More than 160 patients were overdue for elective surgery at the hospital last month, compared with less than 30 overdue during the same month in 2013.
The number of patients overdue for elective surgery peaked at nearly 250 in January this year – more than six times the number overdue in January 2013.
A spokesperson for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons told InDaily in a statement that “in this instance it is difficult to pinpoint any particular event that has led to the current challenges faced at the RAH”.
“Waiting lists will always be an issue in the public health system where there is a shortage of resources.
“We are hopeful this is a temporary issue that will resolve itself quickly, but the College will keep a close eye on future data releases.”
Overdue elective surgery cases peaked at nearly 250 in January this year.
A spokesperson for SA Health said yesterday that the RAH was introducing additional theatre lists to help reduce the number of overdue surgeries on the waiting list.
“SA Health aims to minimise overdue elective surgery wherever possible however this is often impacted by elements including growth in demand, patient surgery cancellations and the requirement for emergency surgery,” the spokesperson said.
“Transforming Health will introduce three elective surgery hubs for day surgery at Noarlunga, multi-day surgery at The Queen Elizabeth and complex multi-day surgery at the RAH to reduce waiting times and minimise cancellations.”
A representative for the South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association declined to comment. An Australian Medical Association spokesperson was unavailable.
