University Hospital Geelong will get a state government-funded rapid access hub to address the region’s backlog of elective surgery.
Data from the Victorian Agency for Health Information showed University Hospital Geelong’s elective surgery waiting list had increased by 55 per cent over the past six months – increasing from 1715 patients in September last year to 2666 in March.
The surge came as Barwon Health was one of several regional health services to suspend non-urgent elective surgery earlier this year to free up resources needed to address the surge in COVID-19 cases.
The state government announced over the weekend the hospital would be the eighth location for a rapid access hub, which aimed to streamline surgical theatres, equipment and staffing to increase the number of surgeries that could be performed each day.
The $5 million project has been funded as part of the government’s COVID Catch-Up Plan, designed to exceed pre-pandemic elective surgery levels by 25 per cent.
Barwon Health director of surgery Simon Williams said the specialist procedural hub at University Hospital Geelong would offer plastics, ear, nose and throat, and oral maxillofacial procedures.
“This new hub will enable our surgical services to provide an efficient, patient-centred model of care that will utilise a combination of procedural facilities and clinical rooms for suitable patients,” he said.
“Targeting a February launch next year, the specialist procedural hub will reduce patient waits for elective procedures, and also allow us to transfer patients more quickly from the emergency department when they require urgent specialist procedures before being discharged.
“Both planned and unplanned procedures will take place at the hub, which will free up our operating suite for more major surgeries.
“We look forward to opening the hub, which will run alongside other initiatives in place to reduce the elective surgery waiting list that has grown during the pandemic.”
The Victorian Agency for Health Information data showed emergency department presentations at University Hospital Geelong had remained stable over the past three months.
There were18,769 presentations to the hospital’s emergency department from January to March, up from 18,405 between October and December 2021.
