A WEBSITE for patients in need of Border operations should be built to better inform them of what’s available, an Albury surgeon says.
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Orthopaedic specialist Jeremy Kolt said patients deserved to have easier access to waiting lists and the types of procedures done by various surgeons who visit Albury Wodonga Health.
“I think having data and information only helps people make a good choice,” Dr Kolt said.
“There’s nothing negative about that, it gives people empowerment to make a choice and is a good thing.”
Dr Kolt’s comments follow a Rutherglen man John Gardner finding himself on a waiting list since September 2015 for an operation to remove bone spurs from his right big toe.
The GP who advised Mr Gardner should have told him of different surgeons’ waiting times, Dr Kolt said previously.
Having a website to navigate the field of surgery on the Border is also seen as an aid to GPs, some of whom may be unfamiliar with the variety of procedures and providers available due to being new to the area.
Reacting to Dr Kolt, Albury Wodonga Health chief executive Leigh McJames said the website was a “good idea”.
“We’ll look at it, we’ll look at any good idea that looks at communication,” he said.
“The main message we need to get out there to the community is that we have an excellent suite of clinicians in a lot of specialties.
“The clinicians we have got credentialled with the hospital are excellent, they wouldn’t be operating here if they weren’t.”
AWH’s operational director for surgical services Dennis Baker said eight theatres across Albury and Wodonga hospitals were utilised five days a week.
An overall average of 3500 patients are on AWH waiting lists over 30-day, 90-day and 365-day categories.
Each year 20,000 operations occur with 40 to 45 per cent of them emergencies such as road or sporting trauma.
Mr Baker said that figure was rising six per cent annually due to population growth.
Mr McJames conceded that AWH’s communication with GPs about surgical matters could be improved.
“GPs are an integral part of the health system in Albury-Wodonga and we have to work in partnership with the GPs,” he said.
“We’re very keen to improve and we will never be perfect, but we strive to do better with our communication with GPs.
“At the moment we are consulting with various clinics...we’re taking feedback on how we can improve.”
