Sign in |  Register
Go to:
 
 

Cooma doctors lament lack of surgery

Drs Hamish Steiner, Greg Liao and Kylie Fardell outside the theatre at Cooma hospital.
Posted by Jessica in Health Check on 03 Aug 2010 at 10:43 am

There is an old axiom often used in medical circles ‘use it or lose it’. Cooma doctors are facing a ‘use it or lose it’ situation with the operating theatres at Cooma Hospital. Speaking on behalf of the doctors, Dr Hamish Steiner said there is real concern amongst the doctors that not enough operations are being carried out at the hospital. This is bad news for patients, but also bad for the doctors who need to keep their anaesthetic skills current. Each of Cooma’s two surgeries provides GPs to handle anaesthetics, but the majority of surgery carried out in Cooma at present is not allowing them continual experience with general anaesthetics, only the milder form which is used for procedures such as colonoscopies or gastroscopies. Figures for surgery at the hospital from 2005/06 to present show real surgery cases have dropped from 529 to 365. While total surgery cases have dropped from 895 to 866, surgery such as coloscopies have risen from 366 to 466. Dr Steiner said local doctors want more and better use of the hospital’s operating theatres. He referred to the 2005-2010 health plan prepared by the Greater Southern Area Health Service. Recommendation 28 in this report states “Review theatre activity and develop a business case that identifies areas of need and a planned ...
Read More..

Events
Have a chat!

Latest Posts :: Health Check

Recent Popular