Page 2108 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 May 1991

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .

---

MINISTER FOR HEALTH, EDUCATION AND THE ARTS

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION

QUESTION NO 387

Hospitals - Waiting Lists

MR BERRY Asked the Minister for Health, Education and the Arts on notice on 17 April 1991:

(1) What are the current numbers on waiting lists (by specialty) for people waiting for surgery in ACT hospitals for the months of January and February 1991.

(2) Will the Minister provide the information requested as a matter of urgency in order that the people of the ACT can be informed of the state of hospital services.

MR HUMPHRIES The answers to Mr.Berrys questions are:

(1) Assuming the question refers to booking lists (which do not have a direct relationship to length of time waiting or clinical need) the February figures are as follows:

BOOKING LISTS FOR ELECTIVE SURGERY

ROYAL CANBERRA AND CALVARY HOSPITALS

February 1991

Orthopaedic 317

Ear, Nose and Throat 156

Gynaecology 266

Urology 90

Plastic Surgery 230

Paediatric Surgery 82

Ophthalmology 97

Neurosugery 103

General Surgery 268

Thoracic/Vascular -

Thoracic 3

Vascular 40

Oral/Dental

Dental 79

Facio-Maxiliary 25

Sub Total 1756

January lists are not available routinely and are not useful because of the Christmas closures.

(2) Booking lists are widely accepted as an extremely poor indicator of the "state" of hospital services which are nowadays measured by procedures and their complexity rather than appointment times. The numbers on the lists are more useful for scaremongering than a rational evaluation of performance.

2108

---

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .