A blowout in surgery waiting lists at Williamstown and Western hospitals is part of a statewide health crisis, according to Williamstown Labor MP Wade Noonan.
But Health Minister David Davis criticised the ALP for contributing to a drop in funding for Victorian hospitals.
Performance data for the December 2013 quarter reveals the number of people waiting for surgery at Williamstown Hospital more than doubled in 12 months, from 380 to 887.
The number of people waiting for surgery at the Western Hospital in Footscray also increased, from 1214 to 1967.
Mr Noonan said the crisis had been caused by the government cutting $826 million from hospitals. “Before the last state election the Liberals promised to slash hospital waiting lists, but three years on the situation is only getting worse,” he said.
But a spokesman for Mr Davis said the state government had increased funding to Western Health by $104.7 million, while the former federal Labor government cut $22.2 million.
“Western Health was forced to reduce its elective surgery program due to these cuts,” he said. Redevelopment of Williamstown’s theatres was cited as the reason behind a median time to treatment of 57 days.
The government and opposition are also at odds about a promise to add 800 hospital beds by June 2014. Mr Davis claimed capacity had increased by 520 beds since 2010.
But opposition health spokesman Gavin Jennings said Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data showed the government increased the state’s bed count by only 43 in its first two years.
He said Mr Davis had included beds funded in Labor’s last budget, as well as ‘Hospital in the Home’ places and other beds which the AIHW says do not contribute to acute bed numbers.
