Sydney Hospital Orthopaedic and General Surgery Services
Page: 18542
Ms SYLVIA HALE: I address my question to the Minister for Health. Are orthopaedic and general surgery services available at Sydney Hospital as of today? Is it true that the last clinic was held yesterday and that orthopaedic and general surgical staff have been transferred to other hospitals? Did the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health services recently issue a press release claiming that all surgical services were operating, and would continue to operate at Sydney Hospital when this is not the case? Has his department tried to cover up the fact that emergency and general surgical services have been closed down at Sydney Hospital?
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: This is an interesting situation for Ms Sylvia Hale because last week, or perhaps the week before, she issued a press release stating that Sydney Hospital was going to close. She said that she was organising an urgent meeting with me to discuss that, but I never heard about the visit. I do not know if she bothered. It probably was a good thing to put in a press release, even though it was not true. Orthopaedic and general surgery departments at Sydney Hospital will not close. Orthopaedic and general surgeons will continue to be available for patients at the hospital. Orthopaedic positions, alongside nearly all surgical positions, will now be attached to two sectors rather than individual hospitals, such as in the case of Sydney Hospital acting in conjunction with the Prince of Wales Hospital. The capacity to utilise the excellent resources of Sydney Hospital to perform predictable elective surgery will enable surgeons to undertake surgery without being bumped off the list by emergency and trauma cases, thus increasing the elective output. That is what was happening all the time. Emergency surgery was taking precedence over elective surgery and the elective surgery was being bumped off the list. There is now a Predictable Surgery Plan that will result in elective surgery being carried out.
Surgeons will benefit from additional theatre time and longer operating lists. I am advised that the number of orthopaedic cases performed will increase as further funding is allocated for long-wait surgery and joint surgery. In 2004-05 Sydney Hospital received $466,000 to perform additional operations, and further funding for additional surgery is anticipated in 2005-06. As the surgical service will be a combined unit across Sydney Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital, I understand that there should be no negative impact on the registrar appointments due to the volume of operations being performed. I am advised that in the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health services there are 16 visiting medical practitioners, three staff specialists and one clinical academic in adult orthopaedics. Following recent recruitment action, six surgeons were appointed to Sydney Hospital: three were re-appointed, one did not re-apply and two applied but were unsuccessful. All visiting medical practitioner applicants who were unsuccessful have been invited to provide an expression of interest to work in other parts of the area health service, namely Shoalhaven and/or Wollongong.
I am advised that there were 40 applications for orthopaedic positions, which means that there are sufficient numbers of practitioners seeking appointment to public hospital positions. Senior doctors and nurses of South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health services currently are developing a clinical service plan that targets the development of clinical services across the area. The clinical executive committee is developing a number of plans, including a new surgical services plan to enhance the development of services across the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health services. I am advised that the clinical executive committee, which is chaired by Dr Michael McGlynn, will make their recommendations in the near future. These changes are aimed at a better distribution of senior medical cover across the area and more equitable allocation of on-call duties. The area health service is committed to reducing significantly the number of patients who have been waiting for surgery for more than 12 months by July 2006. I suggest the next time Ms Sylvia Hale wants to condemn anyone for misleading the public that she condemns herself.
Ms SYLVIA HALE: I ask a supplementary question. Am I to take it from the Minister's remarks that any person presenting themselves for emergency surgery to Sydney Hospital, which deals with the residents, business people and workers within this city, will not be dealt with at Sydney Hospital but will be transferred to an already massively overstretched Prince of Wales Hospital?
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: The question is illogical. People do not present themselves for emergency surgery; usually they are taken there by ambulance. The ambulance will take them to the centre that is most appropriate.