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Under new NSW Government hospital reforms, fourteen additional minor procedures are now eligible to be conducted as day surgeries. The change is expected to not only assist with patient comfort, but also improve surgery wait times and free up hospital beds.
It brings the total number of low-complexity procedures able to be performed without an overnight stay to 22, following the initial introduction of eight procedures in 2024-25.
“We are delivering more surgeries, more quickly and unlocking much needed capacity in our system to ensure more patients have access to the care they need, when they need it,” said Minister for Health Ryan Park.
“By safely discharging people to recover at home with the support they need, we’re creating capacity for someone else who needs that bed, whether that’s admitting someone more quickly from ED or the surgical waitlist.”
Similarly, Labor candidate for Drummoyne, Julia Little, praised the changes.
“The Minns Government is investing in more beds, more staff and more surgery services across the state to reduce wait times and improve access for patients,” said Little.
“The same day surgery program is just another way we’re optimising healthcare and doing it safely so people in NSW can access the care they need faster and more comfortably.”
What Procedures Are Affected?
The new procedures being targeted for completion as day surgery are across ENT, orthopaedics, breast, endocrine, and gynaecology, and include: lymph node biopsies, bunion removal, arthroscopic knee ligament repairs, sublingual gland excisions, elective appendectomies, hemorrhoid removal, rotator cuff repairs, meniscectomy excisions and repairs, pilonidal sinus excisions, and arathyroidectomies.
Other surgeries benefiting from the change include laparoscopic oophorectomies and salpingectomies (including bilateral, i.e. removal of fallopian tubes and ovaries via keyhole surgery), colporrhaphies, and myomectomies (including laparoscopically and hysteroscopically, i.e. removal of fibroids in the uterus via keyhole surgery).
Where medically implicated, these procedures will now be conducted as same day surgeries, whereby patients arrive, have their procedure, and complete their discharge on the same day, avoiding unnecessary hospitalisation.
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