The Ministry of Health and Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) have refused to comment on the capacity for local hospitals to return to elective surgery this month despite the February 1 announcement by the NSW Government of a staggered return for elective procedures in NSW hospitals.
According to the NSW Government announcement, from Monday, February 7, non-urgent elective surgery requiring an overnight stay will return to up to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic activity at regional public hospitals.
Non-urgent elective surgery requiring an overnight stay will return to 75 per cent capacity in private hospitals.
When asked by CCN on February 1 about what this will mean for patients at Gosford and Wyong hospitals, the Ministry of Health’s only comment was a referral back to the state-wide general media release published that morning.
Questions were asked about the number of patients CCLHD currently have on the waiting list for elective surgery and what capacity do the local hospitals have in terms of staffing.
With a staged return of up to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic activity, questions were also raised about how many patients will be left waiting for elective surgery.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said with COVID-19 hospitalisations stabilising, elective surgery can now begin to resume in a safe and staged manner.
“The reintroduction of non-urgent elective surgery will be done in a phased manner to balance the ongoing potential need for extra capacity in our hospitals and the need for people in NSW to access their elective surgeries as quickly as possible,” Perrottet said.
“We recognise the effect these necessary restrictions have had on the lives of people requiring non-urgent elective surgery and I want to assure them we will be doing everything possible to return to full capacity in all of our hospitals as soon as possible.”
Non-urgent elective surgery was temporarily suspended on January 10 to help “ensure there was sufficient staffing and hospital bed capacity” to meet the extra demands caused by the Omicron wave.
Acting Deputy Secretary of NSW Health, Wayne Jones, said there is a possibility local health districts could impose temporary restrictions in the event of a local outbreak.
“Where necessary local health districts may also re-impose temporary restrictions at a hospital in the event of a local outbreak to ensure the community are kept safe and can access hospital care if required,” Jones said.
Jones said patients due to receive non-urgent elective surgery who have been impacted by the restrictions are encouraged to seek medical attention should they experience a change in their condition so they can be clinically reviewed and re-prioritised to a more urgent category if required.
Maisy Rae