Latest news with #KateAubusson
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Patient care must not be compromised by bureaucratic benchmarks
Every three months, the residents of NSW are given a status update on the performance of their state's public health system. The quarterly Bureau of Health Information report paints a picture of how the system is functioning, from the number of ambulance call-outs to wait times in emergency and how long the average patient stays at hospital. Of particular interest since the pandemic – and covered exhaustively by the Herald – has been the elective surgery waitlist, which rose to record lengths when COVID-19 precautions caused the postponement of thousands of non-urgent operations. In the 2023 state election, NSW Labor ran on a platform of reducing the elective surgery waitlist, announcing a surgical taskforce to investigate ways to clear the list, sparing patients from the poor health outcomes that can come from waiting longer than recommended for life-changing operations, including hip and knee replacements, eye surgery, and cardiothoracic procedures. By the end of that year, the number of patients overdue for surgery had declined to pre-pandemic levels. But, as the Herald reported following the release of the latest BHI quarterly data in March, the number of patients overdue for elective surgery in NSW public hospitals tripled between the end of 2023 and the end of 2024. Loading While nowhere near the 18,000-person waitlist left after NSW's Delta lockdown in late 2021, such a sharp upward trend in the number of people waiting too long for operations has not been seen outside of periods of pandemic restrictions. Eye surgeries, joint replacements and tonsillectomies were the procedures with the largest backlogs. Doctors speaking about the release of those figures put the increase down to staff shortages and budget cuts. But, as Herald health editor Kate Aubusson reports today, doubts have been cast over whether the pressure to meet KPIs at some hospitals had led to surgeries being strategically categorised, so they did not appear as overdue on the books. Among the allegations made by doctors at Sydney's RPA and Westmead hospitals, which follow an ABC investigation into similar behaviour at Orange Hospital last month, are that hospitals have been effectively refusing patients because they will not be able to perform their surgery within the recommended timeframe, or changing the categories of patients.
The Age
2 days ago
- Health
- The Age
Patient care must not be compromised by bureaucratic benchmarks
Every three months, the residents of NSW are given a status update on the performance of their state's public health system. The quarterly Bureau of Health Information report paints a picture of how the system is functioning, from the number of ambulance call-outs to wait times in emergency and how long the average patient stays at hospital. Of particular interest since the pandemic – and covered exhaustively by the Herald – has been the elective surgery waitlist, which rose to record lengths when COVID-19 precautions caused the postponement of thousands of non-urgent operations. In the 2023 state election, NSW Labor ran on a platform of reducing the elective surgery waitlist, announcing a surgical taskforce to investigate ways to clear the list, sparing patients from the poor health outcomes that can come from waiting longer than recommended for life-changing operations, including hip and knee replacements, eye surgery, and cardiothoracic procedures. By the end of that year, the number of patients overdue for surgery had declined to pre-pandemic levels. But, as the Herald reported following the release of the latest BHI quarterly data in March, the number of patients overdue for elective surgery in NSW public hospitals tripled between the end of 2023 and the end of 2024. Loading While nowhere near the 18,000-person waitlist left after NSW's Delta lockdown in late 2021, such a sharp upward trend in the number of people waiting too long for operations has not been seen outside of periods of pandemic restrictions. Eye surgeries, joint replacements and tonsillectomies were the procedures with the largest backlogs. Doctors speaking about the release of those figures put the increase down to staff shortages and budget cuts. But, as Herald health editor Kate Aubusson reports today, doubts have been cast over whether the pressure to meet KPIs at some hospitals had led to surgeries being strategically categorised, so they did not appear as overdue on the books. Among the allegations made by doctors at Sydney's RPA and Westmead hospitals, which follow an ABC investigation into similar behaviour at Orange Hospital last month, are that hospitals have been effectively refusing patients because they will not be able to perform their surgery within the recommended timeframe, or changing the categories of patients.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-05-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why women deserve to be treated seriously when they are in pain
'First, do no harm' has long been a guiding principle of medicine. What if instead it was, 'first, listen to the patient'? For Lilli Staff, it might have saved years of pain. When she was 17, she was told her debilitating pelvic pain was normal by several gynaecologists on the NSW South Coast. Two years later, a Sydney gynaecologist diagnosed her with the most severe form of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. It is yet another example of a woman who has been dismissed, belittled, misdiagnosed or gas-lit to come to light since The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age launched an investigation into medical misogyny. As health editor Kate Aubusson reveals today, there are promising signs of a treatment for Pelvic Congestion Syndrome, which is among the many under-researched potential contributors to chronic pelvic pain. There are studies that suggest the syndrome, characterised by damage to the major veins that run through the pelvis, may contribute to as many as 30 or 40 per cent of cases where no other cause, such as endometriosis, can be identified. The promising treatment in question is stenting, a technique more commonly associated with repairing the arteries of cardiovascular patients. In a recent study, vascular surgeon associate professor Laurencia Villalba followed 113 women (aged 17 to 88) with blocked pelvic veins who underwent stenting after suffering severe pelvic pain, some for up to 25 years. Villalba and her co-author, associate professor Theresa Larkin, found that after the procedure, almost every woman (all but two patients) reported that her pain had lessened significantly six to 12 months later, and most (73 per cent) reported that their pain had disappeared completely. This is an encouraging outcome, although it must be said much more study is needed. In the words of associate professor Sarah Aitken, the deputy chair of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' (RACS) Vascular Board, 'this is still a big area of unprioritised research'. Loading Earlier in the week, Aubusson also reported that a world-first endometriosis institute will be established at the University of NSW. It has come about courtesy of the largest known donation in the world towards researching the condition whereby tissue similar to the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, grows in other parts of the body. The Ainsworth family, NSW pokies billionaires, committed the funds to establish the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute (AERI), which has been heralded as a game-changer after a 30-year lag in science investment. The two stories highlight how important it is for doctors, other medical professionals and researchers to take women seriously when they say they are in pain. The advances being made are welcome, of course, and it is important not to rush into adopting treatments for poorly understood conditions without careful ongoing study. But there is a glaring lack of knowledge and research in an area that has been neglected for far too long.
The Age
24-05-2025
- Health
- The Age
Why women deserve to be treated seriously when they are in pain
'First, do no harm' has long been a guiding principle of medicine. What if instead it was, 'first, listen to the patient'? For Lilli Staff, it might have saved years of pain. When she was 17, she was told her debilitating pelvic pain was normal by several gynaecologists on the NSW South Coast. Two years later, a Sydney gynaecologist diagnosed her with the most severe form of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. It is yet another example of a woman who has been dismissed, belittled, misdiagnosed or gas-lit to come to light since The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age launched an investigation into medical misogyny. As health editor Kate Aubusson reveals today, there are promising signs of a treatment for Pelvic Congestion Syndrome, which is among the many under-researched potential contributors to chronic pelvic pain. There are studies that suggest the syndrome, characterised by damage to the major veins that run through the pelvis, may contribute to as many as 30 or 40 per cent of cases where no other cause, such as endometriosis, can be identified. The promising treatment in question is stenting, a technique more commonly associated with repairing the arteries of cardiovascular patients. In a recent study, vascular surgeon associate professor Laurencia Villalba followed 113 women (aged 17 to 88) with blocked pelvic veins who underwent stenting after suffering severe pelvic pain, some for up to 25 years. Villalba and her co-author, associate professor Theresa Larkin, found that after the procedure, almost every woman (all but two patients) reported that her pain had lessened significantly six to 12 months later, and most (73 per cent) reported that their pain had disappeared completely. This is an encouraging outcome, although it must be said much more study is needed. In the words of associate professor Sarah Aitken, the deputy chair of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' (RACS) Vascular Board, 'this is still a big area of unprioritised research'. Loading Earlier in the week, Aubusson also reported that a world-first endometriosis institute will be established at the University of NSW. It has come about courtesy of the largest known donation in the world towards researching the condition whereby tissue similar to the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, grows in other parts of the body. The Ainsworth family, NSW pokies billionaires, committed the funds to establish the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute (AERI), which has been heralded as a game-changer after a 30-year lag in science investment. The two stories highlight how important it is for doctors, other medical professionals and researchers to take women seriously when they say they are in pain. The advances being made are welcome, of course, and it is important not to rush into adopting treatments for poorly understood conditions without careful ongoing study. But there is a glaring lack of knowledge and research in an area that has been neglected for far too long.
