Page: 21914
The Hon. GREG PEARCE: My question is directed to the Minister for Health. Why is Bathurst Base Hospital closing for elective surgery from 14 to 21 April when 134 patients are waiting for orthopaedic surgery at the hospital, 21 of whom have waited for more than a year?
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: The number of people who are currently waiting for care at Bathurst Base Hospital has declined by some 93 compared with those waiting for care in January 2006. The figures for Bathurst hospital show that only 12 people are currently on the long-wait list. That is the figure that the Hon. Greg Pearce asked for and that is the figure that I can now give him.
The Hon. Greg Pearce: Only 12? Not 21?
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: Yes, 12. In relation to Easter closures, the Government has carefully planned the surgery that will take place at hospitals around the State in accordance with surgical targets. This involves having more surgery performed at times that are convenient to patients and less surgery at other times that are less convenient to patients. A number of hospitals, for example—
The Hon. Robyn Parker: It is a cost-cutting measure.
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: No. A number of hospitals will continue to operate over the period. I am advised that at Bathurst Base Hospital the closure will last for four working days. Of course, the situation will vary from hospital to hospital. The hospitals plan their surgery, arrange for that surgery to take place, meet their surgical targets and arrange to close during periods that are convenient to them and to their patients. What is important is not the issue that the Hon. Greg Pearce identified but the outcomes. And the outcomes are clear: the long-wait list has come down by 67.7 per cent compared with the same time last year. The overall waiting list has reduced by 8,000. We have committed an additional $7 million specifically to target the long waits, of which there are very few at Bathurst Base Hospital in light of the figures that I just outlined. The issue does not have the gravity that the Hon. Greg Pearce attached to it.
The Hon. Duncan Gay: Unless you are one of those people on the list.
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: All patients in all hospitals will benefit from the $7 million that the Government has allocated to target long-term waiting lists in particular. As I have said, in the past year the improvement at Bathurst Base Hospital has been quite significant in that regard. That is due to the hard work of the doctors and nurses at the hospital. Hospitals across the State use periods when there is less surgery to perform essential maintenance. We must also recognise the fact that some staff want to take holidays during periods when they can be with their families and friends.