Statewide elective surgery waiting lists are at their lowest level in four years partly because of the key role played by Footscray’s Western Hospital, according to Health Minister David Davis.
But Western Health says discrepancies have emerged in the way the government has compiled waiting lists.
Mr Davis said the Western Hospital had played a key role in the decline with waiting lists dropping by 520 patients, from 2033 at the end of June last year to 1513 by June 30.
He said the hospital provided surgery for 3755 elective patients in the 12 months to the end of June – 108 more than the same period in 2012-13.
But Western Health’s own performance report shows 16 fewer patients received elective surgery at the Western Hospital to the end of June, compared to the previous 12 months.
Western Health stakeholder and public affairs director Cathy Sommerville said differences in waiting list figures reported by the Health Department were the result of a difference in timing of data collection and methods.
“There are a number of different ways in which elective surgery waiting lists are able to be counted and this has led to a variation in this instance,” Ms Sommerville said.
Western Health figures show that at the end of June, an additional 1137 patients had received elective surgery at Williamstown Hospital, compared to the previous 12 months.
“With the opening of a fourth theatre at Williamstown Hospital in late 2013, Western Health now conducts a substantial proportion of its elective surgery at that campus, freeing up Western Hospital for more emergency surgery and a smaller number of highly complex elective surgery cases,” Ms Sommerville said.
At Sunshine Hospital, an extra 437 patients received surgery last financial year compared to the previous 12 months.
But Williamstown Labor MP Wade Noonan said hospital waiting lists were worse now than they were under the previous government.
“It seems the Napthine government has become so desperate they’re prepared to boast about bad news,” Mr Noonan said.
“There are 1513 patients on the [Western Hospital] elective surgery waiting list – 344 more than under Labor – but apparently that’s good news according to the Liberals.
“This is just a cheap exercise in political spin that does nothing to help people waiting in pain for surgery.”
