The number of Tasmanians on a list for elective surgery have returned to levels experienced before COVID, but thousands are still waiting.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Released Friday, the latest Health Dashboard data shows there were 11,618 Tasmanians waiting for elective surgery as of May across all categories.
This includes 1014 category 1, 4611 category 2 and 5993 category 3. It means more than 650 Tasmanians have been taken off the wait list since January this year, or about 5.6 per cent.
The number of patients now waiting across all categories is also almost equal to figures dating back to March last year - 11,286. At the time, all non-urgent elective surgeries were cancelled due to COVID-19 and by December, surgery waitlists had ballooned to 12,140.
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the latest data showed some encouraging improvements, but that there was more to do.
"We must always strive to do better - behind every number is a person requiring care," he said.
There are now 54,469 people waiting for an outpatient appointment, while the number of Tasmanians waiting for oral health care has increased to 17,213.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The average wait time for an ambulance has decreased slightly to 13.7 minutes as of May, compared to its peak of 15 minutes in March.
Earlier this week Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff announced the data, usually released quarterly, would now be released monthly in an effort to increase transparency.
However, Labor Health spokesman Dr Bastian Seidel said the data showed the grim reality facing Tasmanians waiting for necessary medical care.
"The outpatient waitlist has increased by more than 76 per cent since the 2018 election to a figure which is more than double what it was when the Liberals were elected in 2014," he said.
"It's simply gobsmacking that the Liberals have created a broken health system and presided over it for seven years, refusing to acknowledge that it is in unprecedented crisis and refusing to provide a fix."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner