Australia’s Waiting List for Non-Essential Surgeries ‘Growing and Increasingly Critical’: Experts

Emergency Medicine Specialist Dr Kevin Maruno and medical team take a suspected COVID-19 patient in to the isolation ward in the Red zone of the Emergency Department at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia on Jun. 4, 2020. Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) are urging the government to immediately address the “growing and increasingly critical” backlog of elective surgeries, pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The call comes as the new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data shows Australia are waiting longer than ever for elective surgery across a range of categories and conditions.