The South Australian Department of Health and Wellbeing has postponed elective surgeries for 48 hours in public hospitals to create additional beds before the Easter long weekend. This decision was made due to the high occupancy rate in hospitals, with over 500 patients staying for more than 21 days.
The department's chief executive, Robyn Lawrence, apologized to patients whose surgeries were delayed. She explained that the decision was necessary to ensure capacity for emergency patients, as many home care alternatives are unavailable during the Easter period.
Local health networks make daily decisions based on hospital capacity. The opposition has criticized the timing of the announcement, which came shortly after the Dunstan by-election. However, Premier Peter Malinauskas defended the timing, stating that he was first notified of the ban on Tuesday.
The South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA) reported that elective surgeries had already been canceled at the Flinders Medical Centre due to an internal emergency code. SASMOA's chief officer, Bernadette Mulholland, attributed the high demand to heat-related cases.
The Ambulance Employees Association expressed concern about the impact of hospital overcrowding on ambulance response times. Orthopedic surgeon Michael Selby emphasized that delaying elective surgeries only postpones the problem. He noted that operating rooms and staff may be idle while wards are full with patients.