Labor’s elective surgery shame
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has blatantly misled Queenslanders this morning, which is the second time she has done so this week.
Despite Shannon Fenitman’s claims, Queensland Health data clearly shows there were fewer elective surgeries completed in the 2023 June Quarter than the same quarter two years ago, in the middle of the Pandemic.
The number of surgeries performed dropped from 37,187 in the 2nd quarter of 2021 to 36,321 in the 2nd quarter of 2023, a clear decrease of 2.3%.
It is extraordinary that under Labor, fewer surgeries are being performed than during the Pandemic.
There should be more elective surgeries happening across Queensland – not less.
But that is actually what has transpired under Shannon Fentiman.
There is nothing ‘pre-COVID’ about the figures released by Shannon Fentiman today.
More than one in five of all patients waiting for elective surgery will wait longer than clinically recommended for their elective surgery.
When the Palaszczuk Labor Government came to office, that number was just 2%.
In December 2019, just before the onset of COVID-19, that number had risen to 4.4%.
It is now 21.5%.
I am also appalled that Shannon Fentiman says she is “thrilled” when tens of thousands of Queenslanders have waited far too long for their surgeries.
For Shannon Fentiman to try and claim that there has been some form of marked improvement in elective surgery, shows how far removed she is from the realities of the Queensland Health Crisis.
Earlier this week the Shannon Fenitman said, “We have seen a record number of people through our EDs in the last year - 2.2 million which is the highest on record.”
In the last year 2,285,320 people did present to a Queensland Emergency Department, but that is a 5.3% decrease on the year before when Queensland Health figures show 2,412,732 arrived at an ED for help.
Photo-op Fentiman needs to start telling the truth about the Queensland Health Crisis instead of being more focused on fixing the numbers to make herself look good because she’s desperate to be Premier.
