Surgical waits shorten

Press, 10 November 1983, Page 7

Surgical waits shorten

Almost all surgical waiting lists at Christchurch hospitals had shortened during the last year, said the medical superintendent of Christchurch Hospital, Dr D. A. Andrews, yesterday. One exception was genitourinary surgery, where the waiting list had more than doubled, from 230 to 531 in the year. Dr Andrews told a committee meeting of the North Canterbury Hospital Board that an increase had been expected because the operating theatre used for gen-ito-urinary surgery had recently reopened after a nine-month closing. Statistics given to the board’s health services committee were taken from lists at September 30. The waiting list for general surgery stood at 605 (672 at the same time last year), for orthopaedic surgery at 628 (734), and gynaecological surgery at 843 (903). Incomplete figures were provided for the cardiac surgery waiting list. Board members decided that a cardiac surgery unit

should stay as the board’s lop priority. Government funds were not provided for a unit in the latest high-cost technology package announced for hospitals last September. However, Mrs M. H. Ferner said it was important that Christchurch people knew that a cardiac unit still headed the board’s

priority list for funding. Cardiac surgery is one of the items’on the agenda for talks when the North Canterbury and Otago hospital boards meet on December 5.

Dr David Hay said the Dunedin cardiac unit had

been authorised to appoint a third cardiac surgeon but there were funding difficulties.