TASMANIA has the highest proportion of patients waiting more than a year for surgery out of all states and territories, according to figures released today.
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The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare elective surgery waiting times report for the 2013-2014 financial year found that Tasmanian hospital waiting times had increased by almost ten days.
The report comes as acting Tasmanian Health Organisation North chief executive Helen Bryan meets with unions to discuss budget savings suggestions.
There are fears that nursing positions are threatened at Beaconsfield, Campbell Town, Deloraine and George Town.
The director of nursing at George Town will not be replaced, and Mrs Bryan said a six-month trial of one director managing both sites was planned.
"Alongside this will be an organisational structure which seeks to ensure effective clinical and operational governance of both services while maintaining the goal of working with the community to address its health needs," Mrs Bryan said.
Unions warned earlier this month that services would be compromised and hospital beds potentially closed as THO North attempted to find more than $8 million in savings in less than nine months.
As negotiations continue on how the department will meet additional savings targets, the report found the state's average hospital waiting time increased from 36 days to 45.
The report found only half of patients were admitted within the 90 days desirable for a condition causing pain, dysfunction or disability but not likely to become an emergency.
It said elective surgery patients in the two less serious categories were waiting an average of 191 and 491 days over the clinically recommended time.
Tasmania has the second-highest rate of adverse events - such as infection or injury during surgery - and 11.5 per cent of those on the waiting list waited more than a year.
More than 30 per cent of patients on the list for eye surgery and 10 per cent for neurosurgery waited more than a year for the procedure.
Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the report would come as no surprise to Tasmanians, and he was committed to reforming "our broken health system".
"Really, it is only the latest of a succession of reports that showed why Tasmanians gave up on Labor as incompetent managers of health," Mr Ferguson said.
"The Liberal government is delivering on our promise to invest an extra $76 million in our hospitals so that those waiting for elective surgeries can have their operations sooner."
