Shadow Minister for Health Zak Kirkup has urged the State Government to immediately implement a priority program to reduce the number of people on the elective surgery waitlist.
“Throughout COVID-19 the Liberal Party has been fully supportive of all the measures the National Cabinet and WA Government have taken to safeguard the health of Western Australians,” Mr Kirkup said
“However, now that we have resumed 75per cent of elective surgery capacity, moving to 100per cent by June15, it’s important that those patients who experienced delays get their operation straight away.
“In April, when very little elective surgery could be performed, there were 28,148 patients on the waitlist.
“The number of those who have been waiting more than the prescribed time is now at one of the highest it has ever been.
“Whilst COVID-19 contributed to this issue, we know that the elective surgery waitlist has been growing and growing under the McGowan Labor Government.
“On behalf of the tens of thousands of patients, we are calling on the Premier to invest in a program to boost the number of surgeries that can be undertaken when we return to a 100per cent workload.
“The Liberal Party doesn’t want to see anyone waiting longer than they need to for urgently needed surgery.
“This is a stressful time for these patients. We need to remove the anxiety. We need a plan from this government to make sure they target and reduce the waitlist as quickly as they can.”