Hospital waiting lists ‘horrific’

Press, 11 May 1989, Page 1

Hospital waiting lists ‘horrific’

By SARAH SANDS Waiting lists for surgery and outpatient clinics in Canterbury’s public hospitals were horrific, the Canterbury Hospital Board health services committee was told yesterday. A board member, Mrs Joyce Mclver, was commenting on the quarterly statistics which showed that 4992 people were waiting for surgery. Of these, 1302 have waited between three and six months, 851 have waited between six months and a year, 1066 have waited between one and two years, and 424 have waited more than two years. “This is very depressing when you look away from- finance and look at people for a change,” Mrs Mclver said. “People waiting this time are de-

pressed, their attitude to life is demoralised and it looks from today’s statistics as if the waiting lists are worse than usual.” Of those on the waiting list, 729 are waiting for general surgery, 1142 for orthopaedic surgery, 657 for ear, nose and throat surgery, 506 for opthalmology, 639 for sterilisations, 480 for urology and 422 for plastic surgery. Estimated waiting times for new outpatients clinic appointments include: ear, nose and throat, 60 weeks; eyes, 36 weeks; gastroenterology, 12 weeks; genito-urin-ary, 36 weeks; neurology, 20 weeks; pain clinic, 12 weeks; plastic, 24 weeks; rheumatology, 30 weeks; skin, 48 weeks; and surgical, 16 weeks. At Christchurch Women’s Hospital the

waiting times for appointments include: urgent gynaecology, 4 weeks; non-urgent gynaecology, 32 weeks; sterilisations, 40 weeks; infertility, 16 weeks; urgent colposcopy, 4 weeks; and non-urgent colposcopy, 32 weeks. The acting manager for patient care, Dr Ross Fairgray, said it must be remembered that waiting lists were not static. In the quarter ended March 31 this year, more than 2000 patients on the waiting list had been treated. The chairman of the Hospital Board, Mr Tom Grigg, said the slow Christmas period and the strike in February by health workers had compounded the problem.