Warrnambool elective surgery wait times surge to near-record highs

The average wait time for elective surgery at Warrnambool Base Hospital (WBH) has pushed out to 195 days in 2022-23, a full month longer than the previous year and close to the 218 day record average recorded at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21.

The current Warrnambool wait times from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare are more than twice the pre-COVID average, reflecting the deep and ongoing damage the pandemic did to the hospital system by limiting treatment availability and driving staff burnout.

But the growing wait lists are also a result of thousands of Australians delaying GP visits during the pandemic that are now prompting referrals for surgery. If anything, the wait time data will look even worse next year, because some procedures like colonoscopies and gastroscopies could be added to the data from July 2024, although real wait times won't have increased.

Despite its lengthy wait times, WBH was performing better than hospitals of a similar size and location, with the data showing its "peer average" was 296 days, meaning people at similar hospitals were waiting more than three months longer than those in Warrnambool. In the 2022-23 financial year the Warrnambool and Camperdown hospitals performed more surgeries than ever before, with 7518 completed on their campuses and operating theatres of smaller partner health services.

Wait times at the other large Victorian hospitals were generally lower than Warrnambool. In Ballarat the average was 133 days, in Bendigo 191 days, in Shepparton 161 days, in Wangaratta 84 days, and in Traralgon 33 days.

Australia-wide the average wait time was 49 days, with nearly 10 per cent of people waiting more than a year for their procedure. Wait times increased in every state except Tasmania and across all sizes of hospital.

Public health services like South West Healthcare (SWH) don't use wait time averages for their own record keeping; instead they are mandated to categorise elective surgery patients by urgency. The health service indicated all its most urgent patients were offered procedures within the correct timeframes.

"Our teams are continuing to work as hard and efficiently as possible to ensure that all patients are seen within their clinically recommended timeframes," a SWH spokesperson said.

"Surgical wait lists across the state are on the increase. It is important to note that the waiting time for surgery at South West Healthcare remains significantly lower than the state average on a peer-to-peer comparison.

"We are constantly looking at ways to expand access to surgery for our community to address wait times, or alternatively to assist patients to avoid surgery if possible.