Generic photo of a surgical nurse monitoring a patient’s vitals in an operating room / theatre. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
GOLD Coast Health has vowed to stop waiting lists blowing out after the State Government yesterday refused to guarantee category one patients would be operated on within 30 days.
The change was announced by Health Minister Cameron Dick, with the Gold Coast Medical Association accusing the previous state government of having manipulated waiting list figures.
Category one patients are those requiring urgent surgery and targets have dropped to 98 per cent while category two (semi-urgent) and three (non-urgent) targets have been lowered to 95 per cent.
Have you suffered long waiting times at the Gold Coast University Hospital? Source: News Corp Australia
Former Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the reforms were an “absolute disgrace”.
“If Health Minister Cameron Dick was really serious about patient care, then he wouldn’t be scrapping Australia’s first surgery guarantee,” Mr Springborg said.
Gold Coast Medical Association president Gary Swift said the reforms were welcomed by the medical community.
“The Newman government was manipulating statistics to make the waiting list guarantee seem like it was working,” he said. “They limited outpatient appointments and stopped people getting on the waiting lists in the first place.
“There are now massive waiting lists.
“The whole thing was just an expensive political stunt.”