Frustrated doctors want ‘unfair’ surgery ban rolled back

Doctors have pleaded for elective surgeries to be gradually returned, with one surgeon forced to turn away patients in pain as he spends his day “mowing my lawns”.

A call for day surgeries to be reinstated follows a Victorian government U-turn on its ban on crucial IVF treatments this week.

Australian Orthopaedic Association Victorian branch chairman Adrian Trivett lashed the blanket ban on elective surgeries as a “blunt tool” that was leaving people in long-term pain.

He said hospital wards that largely dealt with day surgeries were “empty with the lights off” and nursing staff and doctors were on leave because of “the lack of nuance to the approach to the problem”.

“There’s no doubt there’s capacity in the system to continue with some surgeries that are absolutely not life-threatening but they’re causing disability and pain and they’re not being attended to,” Dr Trivett said.

Gynaecologist Simon Gordon, who specialises in endometriosis, said all of his patients suffered from “chronic and severe pain” but were unable to have surgery.

“I’m at home mowing my lawns and turning the coffee machine on,” Dr Gordon said.

“Patients come to me and I say, ‘Look, I’m not allowed to operate’. Everyone is in the same boat and none of us are doing anything particularly useful.”

He said the nurses he worked with in operating theatres were “highly credentialed” but had “niche” skills that were not applicable to a Covid ward.

“We’re sitting around doing very little when we could be operating.”

Dr Trivett said surgeons were currently only allowed to perform “category 1” surgeries – those that are life- threatening or require immediate ­attention.

He said it was “unfair” that patients suffering pain should have their surgeries delayed given staff were largely not being reassigned to Covid wards. He suggested that overall surgical capacity be reduced if needed, rather than a total ban.

A government spokesman said: “We thank Victorians for their patience as we’ve worked through furloughed workforces and the need to treat patients with life threatening and emergency needs.

“We understand how difficult it is for those waiting for surgery and further advice is being sought from the Health Response Centre about other services that may … be restored without a critical impact on our current hospital workforce capacity.” The government “will work hard to address elective surgery waitlists” and Category 1 surgeries are continuing.

That comes as labs continue to be overrun by PCR test demand. But Victoria’s Covid Commander Jeroen Weimar signalled the state may have reached its Omicron peak. Daily Covid case numbers dipped to 16,016 on Saturday, with 1029 in hospital and 20 deaths overnight.