Health Department confirms cancellation of more elective surgeries after Roger Cook apologised to patients

Another round of elective surgery has been cancelled, as Perth hospitals continue to be overwhelmed by winter demand. The Health Department confirmed late on Thursday that 27 “non-urgent surgeries” scheduled for Friday would be rescheduled, on top of 25 that were delayed on Thursday and 80 that were cancelled on Wednesday. “We continue to monitor pressure across the system, and emergency department demand remains steady,” WA Health Director-General Shirley Bowen said. “We will continue to prioritise our most seriously ill and injured patients.” Earlier, Roger Cook apologised for the “inconvenience” to affected patients, as he defended the decision. “We apologise for the inconvenience that comes with that, but it’s part and parcel of a health system which is, at the moment, managing one of the most severe winter flu seasons on record,” the Premier said on Thursday, while visiting a school in Clarkson. “We thank people for their patience.” Mr Cook said urgent surgery still went ahead, but didn’t directly address claims that a biopsy to investigate signs of brain tumour was among the category two cases that were cancelled. Rod Davies told The West Australian his “dear friend” was in “a terrifying and horrendous limbo” waiting for the biopsy to go ahead, after being rushed to hospital via ambulance. By Thursday afternoon, it was unclear whether the biopsy would go ahead on Friday. “They’re obviously deflated and worried,” Mr Davies told ABC Drive. “They’re just sitting there waiting for something to happen . . . I just can’t believe that brain surgery of even this minor type, if there’s such a thing as a minor type of brain surgery, is deemed elective. “This is an operation on somebody who’s got a potentially life-threatening illness in his head and it just seems to be going on and on and on.” Mr Cook blamed a “very difficult” flu season. “Clinical experts make the decision about the urgency in relation to operations,” he told reporters on Thursday. “We’ve had record levels of elective surgery being undertaken, particularly in the lead up to winter. But, occasionally, they need to manage those patients within the resources they have. “We know this is inconvenient for some people. It means ongoing difficulty, but we do these things in the best interests of all patients.” In Parliament, Health Minister Meredith Hammat said more than 1000 calls to 000 on Monday had strained the system. “This is how the health system responds as it needs to, to meet the most urgent demands in the system,” she said. “The Department of Health . . . is monitoring the system and the demand very closely to ensure that we make the best decisions to ensure that West Australians get access to the care that they need.” Doctors have warned that WA is in the grip of a “full blown health emergency”, as ambulance ramping reaches new record levels. St John WA recorded its worst ever 24-hour period on Monday, with ambulances spending a combined 413 hours stranded outside hospital ED’s with patients on board. Australian Medical Association WA President Kyle Hoath has described the decision to delay some elective surgery as necessary, but alarming. “This isn’t just about inconvenience. This isn’t just about delays. This will start to lead to adverse outcomes,” he said. “This will start to lead to stories that we don’t want to hear because things have been missed, because people had to wait too long.”