Tasmania’s elective surgery waiting list is now at historic low levels since record collection commenced in 2005.
At as June 2017, 5453 were on the waiting list, which is nearly 3100 fewer people compared to three years ago - a 36 per cent reduction.
We came to government promising to provide care for the Tasmanians that Labor cast aside - with some people waiting up to 10 years for elective surgery. These great figures confirm our plan to fix elective surgery waiting times is working.
We have overseen a 78 per cent reduction in people who have waited longer than the recommended time for their surgery, and most importantly, an 86 per cent reduction in kids waiting too long.
We have delivered this by providing record volumes of surgery, with a 24 per cent rise in the number of surgeries performed in 2016/17 compared to three years ago.
While these figures are very pleasing, we know there is more to do and we are getting on with the job of ensuring all Tasmanians get the health care they need when they need it.
We have invested more than $7 billion in our 2017-18 Budget, supporting 106 new hospital beds and 350 hospital staff to support our emergency departments as we continue to deliver our $76 million elective surgery boost.