The Victorian government has spent $5 million on the first regional hub in a bid to bring down surgical waitlist times.
Victoria will soon open its first regional rapid access surgery hub at Geelong’s University Hospital.
Works have now been completed at the hospital’s Youang Surgery Centre which is promised to deliver up to 2300 extra surgical procedures per year as part of the state’s “Covid Catch Up Plan”.
The state government has invested $5 million in the Geelong hub, which joins metropolitan hubs at Sandringham Hospital, Broadmeadows Hospital, Werribee Mercy Hospital and St Vincent’s on the Park, and Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital.
Another two surgery hubs will open at the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Peter Mac Cancer Centre by the end of the year.
The Geelong hub will provide a range of specialist services, including general surgery as well as plastic surgery, ear nose and throat surgery and dental procedures.
Featuring a new surgery theatre and spaces for patients to recover, the new hub will “allow more than 700 procedures to move out of the main hospital, creating more capacity for both emergency and planned surgery in the main hospital”, according to the government announcement.
According to a statement from the Victorian Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas, the latest quarterly performance data shows 51,361 patients were admitted for planned surgery last quarter alone and the waiting list was reduced by a further 3.3%.
“Patient Support Units across 23 sites have supported 26,000 patients to be better prepared for surgery, helping to reduce their length of stay in hospital and risk of post-surgical complications.”
