Qld Govt to fund some public hospital patients in private hospitals
Long-wait patients on public hospital elective surgery waiting lists will benefit from an $8.5 million Beattie Government plan to have them treated sooner in the private sector.
Health Minister Stephen Robertson has announced a public tender seeking an external broker to assist Queensland Health manage the referral and treatment of patients by private health care providers.
“Surgery Connect represents an innovative approach by the government to reduce the backlog of ‘long wait’ patients on elective surgery waiting lists,” he said.
“It’s designed to maximise treatment options for Queenslanders waiting longer than nationally recommended for their surgery.”
It will mean thousands of extra operations for long wait elective patients, with patients getting their surgery for free, and sooner, by utilising available doctors in the private sector. Surgery Connect will target elective surgery in disciplines including orthopaedic, cardio-thoracic, vascular, urology, ophthalmology, gynaecology and general surgery.
Examples of procedures include hip and knee replacements, shoulder surgery, hysterectomies, corrective eye surgery, prostate removal and bladder procedures, repairing obstructed arteries, removing parathyroid glands and fixing abdominal aneurysms.
Mr Robertson said Surgery Connect is a one-off initiative that will complement existing arrangements to increase Queensland’s elective surgery output.
“Our public hospitals already outsource some elective surgery to the private sector.”
