Despite millions of dollars being spent to clear the backlog on elective surgery waitlists, tens of thousands of Australians still face long waits and are living with debilitating pain. kt_calderwood abc730
Elective surgeries were postponed during the COVID pandemic to relieve pressure on hospitals
"All I do is sit by the phone and wait for someone to let me know I can have my life back and give me a hip replacement," he told 7.30 at his home in regional Victoria. Troy Patten can't pursue his hobbies, like fixing up cars, because he's in too much pain while waiting on a hip replacement."Everything in my whole life is in a state of flux.
There were more than 100,000 people on the list in New South Wales at the end of March, nearly 19,000 of whom were overdue.Tasmania's waitlist has improved by about 2,000 in the last year, down to 9,400 in June.The federal Department of Health told 7.30 in a statement: "The Commonwealth provides a significant proportion of spending on the Australian health system to states and territories ...
"You don't know what's going to happen if they have to wait on a waitlist for that long — are they ending up in emergency? Will that surgery then become an emergency surgery?'My fear is that my life will change dramatically'
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