$300 Million for Elective Surgery

Part of response to reducing elective surgery waiting lists will need to be reducing average length of stay, improving flow, eliminating waste and maintaining continuous improvement in quality and safety.

The COAG decision to release $300M in additional funding to reduce elective surgery waiting lists is a very welcome development. States and Territories are required to exceed individual targets, increasing the total number of surgeries performed to access further payments. Increased surgery throughput often has the effect of straining many other systems within hospitals. Process improvements will be needed to accommodate the growth. Not to make those improvments risks locking up beds and other human resources and extending waiting times in other areas of the healthcare delivery. Link