Page 1092 - Week 04 - Thursday, 22 April 2021
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recruiting, both nationally and internationally, more gastroenterologists to provide more public endoscopy services. Several initiatives have also been put in place to address wait times.
In the six months to the end of March 2021, across the system there were 1,085 patients who were overdue who received endoscopies. Nearly 700 of these procedures were funded as part of the $30 million ACT government investment to reboot the health system following the nationwide shutdown of non-essential elective surgeries due to COVID-19. In addition, in the first six months of 2020-21 additional high risk patients requiring general anaesthetic for their endoscopies were focused on by Canberra Health Services in partnership with Calvary private hospital. Nearly 291 patients received 346 endoscopic procedures at Calvary private, with the rest performed at Canberra Hospital.
However, Canberra Health Services also recognised that more needed to be done to ensure that our waitlists are accurate, that we are able to grow our services and that we have a plan to sustainably deliver services into the future. During the last election ACT Labor was the only party that committed to expand endoscopy services at Canberra Health Services by committing to invest $16 million to refurbish the endoscopy suites and, in turn, enable an additional 5,000 procedures per year to be delivered.
Mrs Jones’s motion notes the number of patients currently on the waiting list. This is something that the ACT government is committed to reducing. It is important to note that, for those patients who were seen over the last three years, the median wait time has been 63 days. So, while very long wait times have been reported for some, that is a matter that is under exploration at the moment.
Our further response to this motion in September will provide the Assembly with more detail on how the government will reduce the number of people on the waitlist and will be informed by a full audit of the waiting list. This will provide greater clarity on the true extent of the waiting list and remove people who have, in fact, accessed services elsewhere in the intervening time. This audit was planned for last year but was interrupted by our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Undertaking the audit and developing a sustainable long-term plan will take a little bit of time but will increase the public’s confidence in our public health system.
Just in relation to those people who are on the waitlist, I have heard anecdotally that it is also sometimes the case that people remain on the waitlist after having received an endoscopy publicly because they are then due to receive a further endoscopy but the original referral time has not changed. There are a range of complications in the waitlist, and that is why we are undertaking the audit.
In addition, let me reassure the public that the ACT’s health system will continue to ensure that any patient who is in need of urgent attention will receive treatment. Anyone who is waiting for an endoscopy and feels that their condition is deteriorating should contact their medical professional to seek advice about how to best manage their condition.
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