Surgical Waiting Lists At Hospital

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30453, 29 May 1964, Page 7

Surgical Waiting Lists At Hospital

Waiting lists for surgery in hospitals of the North Canterbury Hospital Board were slightly lower on May 1 than three months before, but slightly higher than 12 months before, the medical superin-tendent-in-chief (Dr. L. McH. Berry) reported to the board. .Extra sessions for tonsil and adenoid surgery had contributed to a reduction since February in the waiting list for ear, nose, and thrbat complaints by 124, to 1150. On the

other hand, there had been a rise of 51, to 876, in the waiting • list for ophthalmic surgery. The number of persons awaiting surgery at May 1 was 3796, compared with 3864 on February 1 and 3706 on May 1, 1963. The longest expected waitting time was for orthopaedic surgery, where the average wait for women wa? two years and a half, and for men two years. The waiting time for children was only two months, however.

Details of the waiting lists and times were:—

General surgery.—Men 407, varicose veins 15 months, other 6 months; women 615, varicose veins 16 months, other 6 months; children 4, 1 month; total 1026 (February, 1000). Orthopaedics.—Men .367, 2 years; women 505, 2i years: children 4,2 months; total 876 (825). Genito-urinary.—Men 66, 8 months; women 40, 6 months; children 30, 6 months; total 136 (136). Ophthalmic. Men 30, 6 months; women 30, 6 months; children 52, 6 months; total 112 (124). Ear, nose, throat.—Men; 373, 2 years; women 282, 18 months; childrep 495, 10 months; total 1150 (1274).

Gynaecology 225, 7 months (227). Plastic Unit—Men 58; women 70; children 143; total 271 (278). Dr. Berry said the development of new techniques in a particular type of surgery often resulted in a back-log being created in the speciality involved. Micro-techniques in ear surgery, for example, had recently made it possible to relieve types of deafness which before had been regarded as almost inoperable; the result was that quite a large number of people had suddenly been added to the waiting list for ear, nose, and throat surgery. If an attempt were made to provide for all these by making more beds and facilities available, the board might find these greatly under-used as soon as the first flush was oyer. The treatriient of varicose veins was another instance where new techniques had indirectly created a large extension , to the waiting list. There were often difficulties in stating the waiting times for a particular speciality, Dr. Berry added, because surgeons had their own ideas about the conduct of their work. Moreover, there was often a longer waiting time for certain operations than for others. The waiting times he had

given tended to be maximum figures. Where an operation was ■urgent, there was. of course, no question of waiting. Dr. Berry appealed for the full co-operation of the public in. getting the waiting lists reduced. Some people on the lists did not come in when called and might not even reply: some who had decided against an operation, or had had it elsewhere, neglected to tell the waiting list clerk until .they were asked to enter hospital. One day recently, a number of people had been asked to come in to fill vacant orthopaedic beds, but for one reason or another not one person turned up. “We had the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the theatre, the theatre staff, and the beds ready, but no patients,” said Dr. Berry. “I thought" it all rather unfair on those who were still on the waiting list.”