Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur has called on the state government to remove the temporary ban on elective surgery.
The state government put elective surgery on hold across regional cities, including Geelong, four weeks ago to free up hospital resources to respond to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Mrs McArthur said there were many illnesses that although not deemed urgent enough to be considered for surgery under the current rules, were still life-threatening.
“Surgeons are telling me that due to COVID fear and rules, patients have delayed medical treatment and are now presenting with cancers that have advanced. Even these are not being treated under the current surgical bans,” Mrs McArthur said.
“An elderly woman who delayed hip surgery because she was caring for her cancer-stricken husband, has fallen over twice in the last week. Her surgeon has asked for her case to be prioritised.
“She has been told she would need to break her hip to get surgery and her surgeon’s request has been denied.
“Neither adults nor children choose cancers, heart conditions, broken hips, or liver and bowel complications – there’s nothing ‘elective’ about these conditions.
“Just like IVF, so-called ‘elective surgery’ for patients in compromised health situations needs to resume.”
With case numbers dropping from their peak over the past few weeks, The Age reported this week that the Department of Health was considering easing restrictions around elective surgeries as early as next week.
Opposition leader Matthew Guy has also called for the ban to be lifted immediately after chief health officer Brett Sutton told a parliamentary oversight committee on Monday he believed hospitalisations from the latest COVID-19 wave had peaked.
