Victoria Leading The Nation On Elective Surgery Waiting Times

Victoria’s world-class health system is leading the nation when it comes to patients being treated faster and getting the surgery they need, new data shows.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Data released today shows Victoria is the top performing state when it comes to median time-to-treatment for elective surgery data.

Victoria’s median time-to-treatment for elective surgery throughout the 2018/19 period was 28 days – much lower than the national average of 41 days.

When the Liberals were last in power, Victoria’s median time-to-treatment reached 42 days.

Victoria is also home to the lowest percentage of patients waiting more than 365 days for elective surgery, with just 1.2 per cent of patients on the elective surgery waiting list for more than a year. Under the Liberals, 3.2 per cent of patients were waiting 12 months for their surgery – almost three times the 2018/19 rate.

The results are thanks to the Andrews Labor Government’s record investments in health, with every health service receiving more funding than ever before, every year since the Government came to power.

The Labor Government has repaired the Liberals’ damage, where patients were left languishing on waiting lists or couldn’t get an ambulance when they needed one the most.

This year, the Labor Government has delivered a big $2.5 billion boost to hospitals’ operating budgets, and is getting on with the job of delivering a huge $7 billion pipeline of hospital projects to back our nurses and doctors to do what they do best.

To see the data visit aihw.gov.au