A dedicated team at Taranaki Base Hospital recently held its third "Sunday Surgery” to help reduce surgical wait times, providing faster access to care for patients who have been waiting the longest for orthopaedic surgery.
The initiative, combined with focused efforts on patient bookings linked to optimising theatre schedules, has reduced its waitlist for patients waiting longer than four months for surgery by 388 since the start of this year.
Led by orthopaedic surgeon Mr Charlie Lewis, the Sunday Surgeries are only possible thanks to a complement of around 17 theatre and ward staff, anaesthetists, sterilisation technicians and surgeons to work extra Sunday shifts in addition to their normal surgery roster during the week.
Orthopaedic procedures are often lengthy and complex, meaning a maximum of five surgeries can be completed during a single Sunday operating session.
Health NZ Taranaki says when they book patients for Sunday Surgeries, patients are in disbelief that they are operating on a Sunday.
They are also grateful for the opportunity to have their surgery that they all go out of their way to make themselves available.
As additional Sunday sessions are scheduled throughout the year, more patients waiting for orthopaedic procedures are expected to benefit from faster access to surgery and improved quality of life.
There are currently approximately 2,320 on the waitlist, down from 2,467 in January, with 717 waiting four months down from 1035 in January.
