1000 on list for elective surgery

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 2

1000 on list for elective surgery

More than 1000 people are on the waiting list for orthopaedic (bone and muscular) surgery, the health services committee of the Canterbury Hospital Board was told yesterday. Of those, 228 had been on the list between one and two years and 221 had been waiting for surgery more than two years. Dr Ross Fairgray, the board’s medical super-intendent-in-chief, said that the amount of elective surgery was affected by the number of road accidents. "Acute admissions from accidents take many of the limited number of beds. The amount of elective surgery done is almost inverse to the number of road traffic accidents.” Dr David Andrews, superintendent of Christchurch Hospital, said that the biggest cause; of surgical waiting lists was a shortage of beds. “Late last year I found more operating theatre time but we could not use it because there were no beds.” In the last three, months, the occupancy rate of orthopaedic beds at Christchurch Hospital had been 90 per cent, he said. The pressure would be increased early next year when parts of some wards would be demolished to make way for stage three of the hospital redevelopment. “We will lose up to 20 beds. While we may be able to get more, they may not be in the best places.” Over all, the number of people on the waiting list was down on last year, Dr Fairgray told the committee. Last year’s waiting list totalled 5191 while the provisional figure to March 31 this year was 4517, he said. “With the increase in admissions each year, it is quite a remarkable achievement by our staff who are working under a great deal of pressure."