Question on Notice 376/2026: Surgery waitlist times

Topic

Surgery waitlist times

Question

QUESTION With reference to surgery waitlist times in February 2026, as listed on Queensland Health’s Performance Website— Will the Minister advise the number of elective surgeries cancelled by either patient or Queensland Health at Bundaberg Base Hospital during the reporting period of February 2025 to February 2026 (in table format, reported in individual tables for each month, reported separately by specialty and category, where the y-axis reports the number cancelled and the x-axis reports the specialty and category, with the values provided in the table and not a reference number to a value that sits outside of the table)? ANSWER I am advised that cancellations can occur for a multitude of reasons, including: the case being brought forward; patient no longer requires treatment; patient treated elsewhere; a priority emergency or elective case; staffing shortages; availability of beds; and more. Cancellations can occur as part of the routine changes to scheduling sometimes occurring well in advance of the day of surgery. Therefore, day of surgery cancellations is the most meaningful measure to reflect elective surgery performance. The Crisafulli Government is improving access to elective surgery and reducing the number of patients waiting longer than clinically recommended timeframes. The Member would be pleased to learn that the Crisafulli Government has invested a record $1.8 billion investment into Surgery Connect and elective surgery capacity, including in Bundaberg. Between February 2025 and February 2026 (inclusive), there were 16 day of surgery cancellations. This is a reduction from 25 day of surgery cancellations between February 2023 and February 2024 (inclusive). To avoid identifying individuals, data is aggregated and counts of less than five are not reported. Month Count of Cancellations Feb-26 0 Jan-26 <5 Dec-25 <5 Nov-25 <5 Oct-25 0 Sep-25 <5 Aug-25 0 Jul-25 0 Jun-25 0 May-25 <5 Apr-25 <5 Mar-25 <5 Feb-25 <5 Total 16 Specialty Count of Cancellations General surgery 9 Gynaecology 0 Orthopaedic surgery 7 Total 16 Category Count of Cancellations Category 1 - Admission within 30 days 5 Category 2 - Admission within 90 days 7 Category 3 - Admission within 365 days <5 Total 16

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