WA hospital crisis: 100 elective surgeries cancelled in South West this month as hospital problems worsen

Around 100 patients in the South West have had their elective surgeries cancelled this month because WA can’t get enough trained medical staff. Bunbury Hospital is the latest regional campus being forced to swing an axe at services because of a worrying worker shortage. It follows the suspension of maternity services at St John of God Hospital in Geraldton due to a shortage of midwives. Health Minister Roger Cook confirmed Bunbury Hospital was operating at a reduced theatre capacity. An email sent to staff from the WA Country Health Service Bunbury director Jeff Calver on October 29 blamed “significant” staff shortages for the cancellations. Mr Calver said the team was “urgently trying to locate more appropriately trained staff to alleviate this situation”. “We have modified the Bunbury Theatre Schedule for the next four weeks starting November 1,” he said. “These restrictions will continue until early next year. “ Staff were told to prioritise urgent category one patients and postpone other patients where appropriate during what Mr Calver described as a difficult time. Mr Calver told The West it was business as usual for any hospital to prioritise elective surgeries according to clinical risk during peak periods. “This is done to ensure priority is given to emergency and urgent cases and may result in less urgent surgeries being postponed,” he said. “Staff at Bunbury Hospital continue to perform extraordinary work throughout difficult times – including managing unprecedented demand and ongoing workforce pressures.” The matter was raised by Opposition health spokesperson Libby Mettam in Parliament on Thursday, where she said one surgeon in Bunbury had a whole list of category one bowel surgeries removed from the theatre schedule. She believed some people would now have to wait until April to have their medical treatment and blamed the Labor Government for its mismanagement of the health system. “There was a promise over 20 months ago to ensure our hospitals would be battle-ready for COVID,” Ms Mettam said. “But with ongoing restrictions to elective surgeries, we are seeing the McGowan Government fail in that promise.”