Hospitals will be cranked up to 125 per cent of their pre-pandemic levels as the government promises an extra 40,000 surgeries in 2023, building up to a record 240,000 surgeries every year from 2024. COVID hospital springst COVIDvic
The state government is preparing to ramp up surgical activity to record levels as part of a $1.5 billion hospital blitz to clear a massive backlog of elective surgery built up over the pandemic.
But the push – needed to tackle huge waiting lists linked to months worth of cancelled surgeries due to the pandemic – will not come cheaply, costing as much as $1.5 billion. The idea is that there will be no emergency department to divert healthcare workers, allowing the new facility to focus on tackling the backlog of elective surgery patients built up over the past two years.As part of the plan, two new operating theatres will be set up at the hospital by early next year.
The government is also promising to set up so-called “rapid access hubs” across metropolitan public hospitals to perform specific surgeries such as hernia repairs, cataract surgeries and joint replacements, allowing specialist staff using specialised equipment to perform more surgeries each day.