A new report states many residents in the Mid North Coast region will await elective surgery.
Here are five facts to note:
1. In March, approximately 4,606 patients at hospitals in the Mid North Coast Local Health district waited for elective surgery according to a Bureau of Health Information report released last Thursday.
2. Of the 4,606 patients, 1,309 awaited cataract extraction, 401 for a total knee placement, 176 for a hip replacement, 175 for a tonsillectomy and 144 for an inguinal herniorrhaphy.
3. Non-urgent surgery patients had an average wait period of 321 days with some patients waiting an extended 347 days for elective surgery.
4. Despite these wait periods, Jillian Minister, health minister, said these figures illustrates that the hospitals were enhancing their performance with 84 percent of patients receiving surgery within the four-hour benchmark set by NSW health.
5. The improvement, according to Chief Executive Stewart Dowrick, is due to the hardworking stuff and initiative such as the Whole of Hospital program.
For more on orthopedics:
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Dr. Thomas Barber: Key concepts on IPAB repeal for orthopedic surgeons
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