The NSW Ministry of Health has announced changes to the urgency categorisation of cataract surgery for the second eye of a patient.
From July 1, 2024, a patient presenting for cataract removal for their second eye at a public hospital will be entered on to the elective surgery waitlist as a category 2, resulting in surgery within 90 days. Until then, Local Health Districts will receive additional funding to meet this target for current waitlist patients.
The change was announced on 28 March, three days after the NSW election.
Vision 2020 Australia, whose campaign efforts during the NSW election focused on the unacceptable wait times for cataract surgery in the state’s public hospitals, said it was pleased with the outcome.
“This result is testament to the collective impact of our members and represents a major outcome for the sector,” the peak body said.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Elective Surgery Waiting Times Report 2021-22 shows that NSW is at the bottom of the pile when it comes to cataract surgery.
NSW has the longest median wait time in Australia at 278 days, compared to the national median of 158 days, and well behind the best performing states Victoria and Queensland (84 days).
Almost one in five (19.2%) people in NSW are waiting longer than 12 months before receiving surgery in the public system, a statistic Vision 2020 Australia CEO Ms Carly Iles describes as not acceptable.
“Cataract surgery is one of the most performed surgeries worldwide, and it is highly successful in restoring vision. However, long waiting times can lead to complications and cause thousands to be needlessly blind and lose their independence,” she said.
The impact of the wait times is also economical, according to Vision 2020 Australia.
People are unable to participate in work while waiting for treatment, families and carers are called on to care for those waiting for treatment and people are more likely to experience falls and car accidents while waiting for treatment, putting a huge strain on the health care system.
For every additional three months people spend waiting for cataract surgery, it is estimated that they will suffer 7,251 more falls, costing the health system $3.07 million each quarter, the peak body said.
More reading
Vision 2020 Australia’s 2023-24 Federal Budget wish list
Action needed as NSW lags behind in cataract surgery wait time
Performing cataract surgery … sustainably
