Most recent figures show waiting lists dropping in Queensland

The most recent figures on waiting lists in Queensland show that the number of people waiting longer than clinically recommended for elective surgery has dropped to 186 as at April 1, 2016.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Cameron Dick said that on February 1, 2015, prior to the swearing-in of the Palaszczuk Government, 324 adults and children were waiting longer than clinically recommended for surgery, while on April 1, 2016, there were 186.

He said that while waiting list numbers would always fluctuate over time, there were fewer people waiting longer than clinically recommended for elective surgery now than when the Palaszczuk Government came to office.

“In addition to this robust performance we have made strong inroads into the ‘wait-list for the wait list,” he said.

“When we came into office, we found that Lawrence Springborg had left over 100,000 people waiting for a specialist outpatient appointment. The most recent figures show that there are just over 85,000 people waiting for such an appointment.”

Mr Dick said that this improved performance has been achieved despite significant extra demand across the state’s public health system. This extra demand can be seen by the number of patients requiring elective surgery rising from 27,950 people in February, 2015 to 33,382 people in April, 2016.

“One of the key measures of performance of our state’s health system is the number of people waiting longer than clinically recommended for surgery or an outpatient appointment,” he said.

“While demand for public health services continues to grow, our government is making inroads in reducing the number of Queenslanders waiting longer than clinically recommended for treatment in our public hospitals.

“What this shows is that we are treating more and more people. While demand is rising strongly, staff in the hospitals and health system are doing their best to keep pace with this growth.”

Mr Dick today welcomed recommendations from the Auditor-General designed to improve operating theatre efficiency.

The report covered the period July 2014 to December 2015, which included an eight-month period when Lawrence Springborg was Minister for Health.

He said the report provided a good framework for the Government to make further improvements, including a better utilisation of operating theatres.

MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Fraser 0428 290 679