The Victorian government is defending its decision to walk away from a promise to deliver record elective surgeries, as revealed in the state budget this week.
The government had previously set a goal of 240,000 elective surgeries in the 2023-24 financial year, but will fall short of that target by more than 30,000.
It has now set a target of 200,000 elective surgeries for 2024-25, putting the lower figure down to "the cessation of the COVID-19 Catch up Plan, following significant reductions in the planned surgery waiting list".
In the budget papers, the government said the number of elective surgeries failed to reach the target "due to continued demand pressures on health services post-pandemic, including high demand for emergency surgery".
It also said workforce challenges and increased demand on emergency departments and inpatient beds were contributors.
Targets 'aspirational but not achievable'
However Australian Medical Association (AMA) Victoria president Jill Tomlinson said the workforce shortages had been known for a long time, and the targets had been "aspirational but not achievable".
"This is the fifth year in a row that the Victorian government's targets on elective surgery have not been met and Victorians have a right to answers as to why we're not achieving those targets," she said.
"Every person who is not getting their surgery is a person who is waiting with pain, with disability, often unable to work — and we've got to keep that in mind when thinking about these targets."
Premier Jacinta Allan defended the decision to pursue a lower target for elective surgeries in the next financial year.
"What we've taken the opportunity to do through the budget is to also have the targets in place to reflect what hospitals are delivering," she said.
"What we need to do is continue to work with our hospitals, work with how we're delivering elective surgery that recognises those workforce restraints, but also too, the way people are accessing care differently to what they were before the pandemic."
Staff shortages restricting hospitals
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the 240,000 elective surgeries figure was "an ambitious target" but the government had to "recalibrate" due to a shortage of trained staff in hospitals.
"Whilst we've delivered more planned surgeries than ever before, we're not going to reach that target and the thing that holds us back ... is we're still not able to access the workforce that we need," she said.
"Our planned surgery wait list has decreased by 30 per cent from when it peaked during the height of COVID and it is now down to where it was before the pandemic."
Life changed after shoulder surgery
Former teacher Jill Langdon, who slipped on some library books at her school in 2014, knows the pain that can occur in the lead-up to surgery.
"It was pretty painful, debilitating," she said.
"I had to rely on my husband to do lots of things. I wouldn't move very well because it was just pain on pain in the joint."
After trying other methods to resolve her pain, she decided to go ahead with a reverse shoulder reconstruction in 2021.
She went through the private system because her accident happened at work.
While she has not fully recovered function in her shoulder and arm, Mrs Langdon said her pain had reduced dramatically.
"It's improved my life amazingly," she said, adding that now she could play with her young grandson.
State government steers focus to $8.8b investment
On Sunday the government was spruiking its $8.8 billion hospital investment in the state budget.
It referenced an annual 9.8 per cent rise in healthcare costs over the last five years.
Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier accused the government of failing to meet a promise on elective surgeries.
"These cuts to health and elective surgeries will only worsen Victoria's ongoing health crisis and lead to longer wait times and poorer outcomes for patients," she said.
"Labor's priorities are all wrong. Premier Jacinta Allan can't find the money to reduce Victoria's elective surgery waitlist but can find $216 billion to build a new train line for parts of suburban Melbourne."
Dr Tomlinson said it was not just the state government's targets on elective surgery that were not being met.
"We're failing to meet the targets on emergency department admission times, we've also failed to meet the targets on mental health — and so we really need to think realistically what can be achieved and what problems are we going to see in the years going ahead."
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