Elective surgery restrictions are expected to be re-introduced in NSW on Friday,after the as well as mobilising private hospitals to deal with what health authorities have said will likely be a rapid,but short,case surge.
More than,up from 2200 the previous week.
On Wednesday night, “to help hospitals respond to the increasing number of patients with coronavirus”.
Earlier this week,theHerald revealed COVID-positive patients were,as both part of public hospital surge plans and as a result of those patients receiving other care. There were 1609 COVID-19 cases in hospital on Thursday.
Private hospitals were briefed on the changes on Thursday. They were told the restrictions would be similar to. However,some more urgent categories of day surgery would still be allowed under the new rules,which will come into effect on Monday.
“Next week is the first week that we were coming back to any sense of normality – most surgeons are on holiday right now,they may not be looking at the news at all,” a senior Sydney surgeon not authorised to comment said,expressing concern about how hospitals would implement the restrictions on such a tight turnaround.
Non-urgent surgery was suspended in private and public hospitals in Greater Sydney in August,to free staff for involvement in vaccination programs and to provide care for rising hospitalisations in the city’s Delta wave.
Elective surgery was reintroduced slowly from October:first just day surgery,and then all non-urgent operations.
The backlog created by 2021’s elective surgery shutdown was significant. Data from the end of September showed the before procedures were gradually re-allowed.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons had,when people caught up on medical appointments missed during the lockdown.
NSW president of the Australian Medical Association Dr Danielle McMullen said the decision to suspend surgery was “inevitable” given the impact of rising case numbers on the hospital system “but not unavoidable”.
“Elective surgery is not ‘unnecessary surgery’,it is serious medical care and delaying that care impacts on the quality of life for many Australians,” she said.
“Elective surgery shouldn’t be a tap that government turns ‘on’ and ‘off’ to cover for serious cracks in our healthcare system.”
Amid record numbers of staff on furlough,NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce on Wednesday said the ministry planned to more than quadruple the number of vaccinations it was delivering at its state hubs,providing more than 300,000 shots a week by the end of January.