22 July 2008

More than 4,500 extra patients undergo elective surgery in NSW

NSW Minister for Health Reba Meagher today said more than 4,500 additional NSW patients have undergone elective surgery procedures in the past six months as part of a nation-wide blitz on elective surgery waiting lists.

Attending the Australian Health Ministers' Conference in Canberra, Ms Meagher reported that NSW had undertaken an additional 4,545 elective surgery procedures as a result of additional funding from the Commonwealth Government.

"The Rudd Government put $43.3 million on the table in January this year, followed by a further $50.6 million in May, to enable NSW to further drive down elective surgery waiting lists across the State," Ms Meagher said.

"This funding means an extra 8,743 NSW patients will have their elective surgery performed this year.

"I was pleased to report to the Australian Health Ministers' Conference today that NSW is well on track to meeting that target, with 52 per cent of the additional elective surgical activity already performed.

"NSW has performed well over the past few years in reducing its elective surgery waiting lists so that fewer patients wait longer than the clinically appropriate amount of time for their surgery.

"The funding from the Commonwealth Government enables us to further improve our performance in this key area of health service delivery."

Ms Meagher said another key outcome from today's meeting was endorsement of a NSW proposal for a national mental health forum to be held later this year.

"NSW is committed to improving mental health services and to driving reform that delivers real improvements for people living with mental illness," Ms Meagher said.

"Health Ministers today agreed on the importance of a national approach to mental health reform and committed to the development of a Fourth National Mental Health Plan.

"The mental health forum, to be hosted by NSW, will allow Health Ministers to develop clear priorities for mental health reform and will inform the development of the new national plan."

Ms Meagher said today's Australian Health Ministers' Conference provided a strong indication of the commitment among all jurisdictions to working together to improve health service delivery.

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