General News

Regional NSW residents rate healthcare system – elective surgery a key concern

  • New research conducted by SEC Newgate and commissioned by the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Australia reveals the quality of the healthcare system remains a top concern for regional NSW residents, out rating issues such as climate change, jobs, and unemployment.
  • A majority surveyed opposed the decision to suspend elective surgery in the last Omicron outbreak.
  • Latest Bureau of Health Information quarterly data shows more than 94,000 NSW patients waiting for elective surgery. The same data also reveals waiting times for semi-urgent elective surgery were the longest of any quarter since BHI began reporting in 2010.
  • With Australia’s first flu season in three years fast approaching and the ongoing risk posed by COVID-19 variants, there is real risk for future elective surgery suspensions.
  • Medical experts, industry and healthcare providers have shared a range of solutions to ensure patients don’t miss out on receiving essential treatment with these plans to be shared with government.

One of the incidental consequences of the latest Omicron wave has been delays in elective surgery as more than 94,000 NSW patients wait to be seen for a range of preventable and painful illnesses.

New research released today shows the quality of the healthcare system remains a top issue for thousands of regional NSW residents, with more than 81% of regional residents surveyed naming it as a major concern – outranking climate change, education, personal safety, jobs, and unemployment.

While the performance of nurses and frontline staff ranked number one, residents surveyed were more most concerned about the waiting times for elective surgery and disagreed with the decision to suspend non-urgent surgery during the latest Omicron outbreak.

2,000 NSW residents surveyed with 723 in regional areas (35% of sample). The research showed that for regional residents:

  • More than 60% rated waiting time for elective surgeries as poor or very poor, making it the lowest-performing aspect of the health system evaluated.
  • 90% said they would be extremely or quite concerned both for themselves and for their friends and family if an elective surgery was to be delayed by three months.
  • More than 85% of those surveyed from regional NSW stated they felt the healthcare system should be better resourced in the future to enable elective surgeries to continue if another outbreak was to occur.
  • Significantly more people in regional areas opposed the decision to pause elective surgery in January to deal with the Omicron Wave and significantly fewer regional NSW people support (19% vs. 28%).
  • People surveyed from regional areas were far less likely to rate the overall amount of funding and resourcing as excellent or good (16% regional vs. 31% metropolitan).
  • Only 13% of those surveyed from regional NSW thought staffing levels in public hospitals were excellent or good.
  • Only 8% of those surveyed from regional NSW said they thought waiting times for elective surgery were excellent or good.
  • Significantly fewer people in regional areas agreed that the NSW Government has been resourcing the health system well enough to properly deal with COVID compared to those from metropolitan areas (30% vs. 45%).

Johnson & Johnson MedTech ANZ Managing Director, and former nurse, Sue Martin said the results reflected what many GPs and surgeons have been telling the healthcare industry and decision makers for months – pausing elective surgery is not sustainable.

“Elective surgery doesn’t mean unnecessary surgery – it includes essential procedures that remove cancers, alleviate pain and prevent deterioration of a patient’s condition. These procedures get people moving, back to work and living a full and vibrant life again,” Ms Martin said.

“The government made the difficult decision to suspend elective surgeries and we praise them for their hard work to get through the current backlog. However, we want to ensure this lever is never pulled again and we’re concerned this could happen with the current COVID wave and our first flu season in three years expected in the coming weeks.”

With the current COVID outbreak and notoriously busy winter flu season fast approaching, the health sector recently came together to find solutions and ensure patients waiting for surgery are seen in a timely manner.

Facilitated by McKell Institute, the Australian Medical Association, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Catholic Health Australia and Johnson & Johnson MedTech ANZ outlined practical alternatives to prevent the future suspension of elective surgery.

For the first time, it can be revealed these include:

  • Using “surge capacity” to keep surgery going as much as possible;
  • Having a dedicated fund and workforce plan;
  • Establishing COVID designated hospitals;
  • Reassessing current traditional care practices;
  • Utilising new technologies.

McKell Institute CEO Michael Buckland said it was pleasing to see the sector chart a way forward to better manage elective surgery in times of crisis, creating better health outcomes for patients.

“No government takes the suspension of any surgery lightly and the healthcare industry is committed to working together as the system recovers,” Mr Buckland said.

“The long-term impact of pausing non-urgent elective surgery is the deterioration of non-urgent health issues leading to urgent health issues, decreased health outcomes for patients and further strain on our healthcare system.

“Industry leaders from the health sector are united in their calls for action and have used their collective expertise and shared key learnings from the pandemic to help implement sensible public policy changes to inform future practices.”

The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Australia commissioned SEC Newgate Research to conduct a new piece of social research to explore the impact of COVID-19, and related policies, on the health of the NSW community and related behaviours.

Background:

Elective surgery is essential and includes:

  • endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures
  • joint replacements such as hips and knees replacements
  • screening programs for cancer and other diseases
  • IVF procedures
  • post-cancer reconstruction procedures including mastectomies
  • eye procedures and cataracts, and dental surgeries including temporary fillings, extractions and other preventive procedures.

About the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Australia and New Zealand

The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Australia and New Zealand spans consumer health products, medical technology, and pharmaceuticals. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health (Johnson & Johnson Pacific Pty Ltd) is one of the largest over the counter suppliers to retail pharmacies and grocery in Australia. Johnson & Johnson MedTech (Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd) is the largest medical device provider in Australia. Janssen Australia and New Zealand (Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd) is a leading research-based pharmaceutical company. We believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress.