Bowral Hospital's medical staff have publicly declared their concerns about the hospital's surgery management practices, saying the current waiting list blowout for elective surgery is indicative that the operating theatres are being under-utilised.
In a unanimous decision at a recent meeting of the hospital's Medical Staff Council, the 25-member council voted to air their concerns publicly in the hope of facilitating change at the hospital so doctors could operate longer.
In their statement, the council rejected claims made by Bowral Hospital's then general manager Amanda Larkin that operating theatre staff were rostered on for half a day of surgery and were then working in other areas on standby for the rest of the day.
"The Medical Staff Council refutes previous statements by SWSAHS and confirms the operating theatres at Bowral and District Hospital are under-utilised rather than being placed on standby," the statement reads.
"The theatres are only booked for elective procedures four hours per day: Monday to Friday and should instead be booked for eight hours per day Monday to Friday to effectively utilise existing resources.
"The Medical Staff Council considers the waiting list of orthopaedic, ophthalmological (eye) and certain surgical procedures at Bowral and District Hospital unacceptable compared with national waiting list benchmarks."
The Medical Staff Council also indicated their support for the surgical nursing team at the hospital, with council members keen to dispel suggestions the nurses were 'idle' while the surgeries were under-utilised.
"The Medical Staff Council support the highly skilled, professional and motivated nursing staff at Bowral and District Hospital working in the operating theatres," the statement reads.
Council members are also planning to provide fact sheets regarding the surgical and orthopaedic waiting lists of Bowral Hospital for distribution among local general practitioners and patients to raise awareness of the waiting list situation which has seen some patients waiting for 12 months for urgent surgery.
Bowral Hospital Medical Staff Council chairman Dr Shirhan Ho has expressed support for the sentiments expressed in the statement.
Bowral Hospital general surgeon Dr Frank Stening, who has previously expressed concerns about the management practices for Bowral Hospital's operating theatres, said the statement was confirmation of his concerns.
"This statement verifies what Dr (Andrew) Leicester and I have been saying," he said.
Dr Stening said he hoped this move by the council would encourage the management to come out and clarify where the hospital stood in terms of funding.
"If they haven't got the funding (for a full day of surgery), why don't they go out there and say it," he said.
Bowral Hospital's general manager David Ryan was unavailable for comment but a SWSAHS spokesperson again defended the surgery management practices, saying the hospital needed to have time allocated in the day for emergencies and the surgery needed to be free in those times.
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