4
President’s perspective We continue to be challenged by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has on our patients and the health system with many healthcare workers tired and rundown. The pandemic has truly exposed many aspects of our healthcare system that need to be fixed to ensure long-term sustainability. One of the issues that we have been advocating for strongly over the last two years is that of elective surgery. Governments have been banning elective surgery without consultation with surgeons and other experts who can help inform such decisions.
While it is good to see elective surgery resuming albeit in a staged manner in some jurisdictions, governments must have short-term and long-term plans to manage the community need for elective surgery in a more nuanced manner that puts patients first. As surgeons we understand the different pressures on the public and private health sectors especially in this COVID-19 environment, but we also know that elective surgery closures don’t free up hospital capacity. There is absolutely no reason why surgery cannot continue in some areas without impacting the COVID-19 response. Another recommendation we have made is for governments to develop plans that allow
for individual flexibility and decisionmaking at the local level for a prompt response to patient needs. An added concern we have shared with governments is the use of terminologies such as ‘elective surgery’, which could be interpreted as meaning ‘non-essential’, which is incorrect. In time we plan to address the current categorisation system used and work towards a better system, more relevant to current requirements and to use in the future. In December 2021, we were pleased that Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia announced that they will conduct an external review of patient safety issues in the cosmetic surgery sector.
