Surgery wait to be cut at PDH

Surgeons from Warrnambool will operate at PDH every fortnight in a move that will help Portland address a shortage of surgeons, while freeing up capacity at SWHC.

Warrnambool’s five resident general surgeons will visit Portland on a rotational basis, starting for the week beginning January 9.

The surgeons last week expressed concern a shortage of operating theatre capacity in Warrnambool and a growing waiting list for elective surgery.

PDH Chief Executive John O’Neill said the agreement was a good result for both hospitals and for the Portland district community.

”We are very pleased to participate in this agreement which will particularly help people in the Portland area” he said.

Mr O’Neill said PDH needed more surgeons, while SWHC was looking to address theatre capacity issues.

He said it was believed there were about 800 Portland people currently on waiting lists for surgery at SWHC so this would ease the waiting times.

“We have the capacity at Portland to host visiting Warrnambool surgeons, which will help to reduce surgery waiting times for local residents” he said.

“We will be offering a wide range of general surgery but will focus more on day stay procedures” Me O’Neill said.

“We will initially prioritise for those needing urgent care.”

“PDH has excellent operating theatres with the lowest infection rates in Australia” Mr O’Neill said, “so it is of benefit to everyone to have them working at maximum capacity.”

The increase will also have financial benefits for PDH with Mr O’Neill predicting it to improve revenue flows.

“We are funded based on activity so this will obviously increase the amount of activity and therefore revenue, while speeding up waiting lists” he said.

SWHC Chief Executive John Krygger described the agreement as a “win, win” for both hospitals.

“It is meeting the needs of both hospitals and will address the waiting list issue in our region” he said.

Mr Krygger said Portland had a shortage of general surgeons, a surplus of theatre space and spare capacity under the weighted inlier equivalent separations (WIES) system for patient funding.

“We have a shortage of WIES funding and limited theatre capacity so both hospitals will benefit from this arrangement” he said.

“While the surgery in Portland will be available to anyone, it is more appropriate for those patients from Portland area to be treated close to home if possible” Mr Krygger added.

Mr O’Neill said the increase in operating days will mean the theatre suite at PDH will be fully utilised and will complement the work of new general surgeon Mr Thair Abbas, who joined PDH last month after moving to the city from Dubai, where he worked as a consultant general and laparoscopic surgeon.

There is no end date to the agreement but Mr O’Neill said it will be reviewed in 12 months’ time.

STORY BY Tiana Richardson Portland Observer