25 October 2006

Waiting List Hotline to Make Life Easier for Patients

A new surgery waiting list hotline, ''Surgery Access'', will kick-off on Monday 6 November to help NSW patients on a surgery waiting list stay better informed and potentially get their surgery sooner, Premier Morris Iemma announced today.

"This hotline is part of our new direction to better manage elective surgery waiting lists and make sure the focus is fixed firmly on the patients," Mr Iemma said.

"It will give patients a single point of contact so they can check how long they have to wait for surgery, or explore alternative surgery options, all with one phone call.

"General Practitioners will also be able to ring the hotline to check which surgeons have the shortest waiting time when they are referring a patient," he said. Mr Iemma said that highly-trained operators may discuss options for surgery patients that include:

• Accessing an alternative surgeon who has a shorter waiting list; or
• Attending a hospital which specialises in certain procedures and may have a shorter waiting list.

"Waiting for surgery can be a stressful time and we want to make things easier for patients and their families," Mr Iemma said.

"We are offering people information and options - information about how long they have to wait for surgery, and options for getting surgery sooner."

Mr Iemma said that in coming weeks patients around NSW will be able contact the hotline - a statewide free call number. The hotline will be staffed by trained, experienced operators from 8 am to 7 pm - Monday to Friday. The following steps would then apply: 

• Initially, the patient would be put through to the Patient Access Coordinator in their Area Health Services to see if there is a doctor in their local area available to perform the procedure sooner.
• If a doctor is not available in their area, the central patient access coordinators would contact other Area Health Services to identify doctors who may be able to perform the surgery sooner.
• If a sooner option is available, and it is acceptable to the patient, they will be allocated the earlier surgery date.

While there are currently Patient Access Coordinators in each Area Health Service, the new hotline would establish one central point of contact for patients across NSW and would allow coordinators to look at waiting lists across Areas.

NSW Health Minister, John Hatzistergos said a public awareness campaign would be run to make patients aware of the new hotline number.

"The Predictable Surgery Program, designed by clinicians and backed by extra dollars and nurses, has been getting results in reducing waiting lists," Mr Hatzistergos said.

"436,666 people attended hospital emergency departments for treatment in June, July and August - 19,000 more than winter last year.

"That is an extra patient presenting to our Emergency Departments every seven minutes compared to last year.

"Those people with more serious illnesses and injuries who required admission to a ward from the Emergency Department also increased by more than 7,000 over last winter.

"But in the face of that, we managed to do 3.5 per cent, or around 5,000 more booked surgery procedures than last winter.

"There's more to do, but we're heading in the right direction, and Surgery Access is the next step."

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au