Woman's heart surgery at Flinders Medical Centre delayed for months

Australia Broadcast Center

10 hours ago

A South Australian woman who feared she might not make it while waiting for heart surgery has been told her life-saving procedure has been scheduled for next week.
Bek Batt told ABC Radio Adelaide on Tuesday morning that she was told in January that she needed a pacemaker and two stents in her heart, as well as a cardiac ablation, to treat an irregular heartbeat.
The Victor Harbor woman said she had met a surgeon and was told she would be waiting for no more than a month.
"He said if he had his way I'd be in within two weeks, I was promised it would be no more than two weeks, no more than four weeks, I'm still waiting," she said.
"I think I'll be gone before I get the heart surgery."
She said she was worried she would have a stroke while waiting for the treatment at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) but understood the significant demand on healthcare workers.
"They're all under pressure and there's no way around it," Ms Batt said.
After speaking with the ABC, Ms Batt was told her surgery had been scheduled for next week.
The woman said she was "very relieved" to have a booked-in date.
Earlier today, SA Health chief executive Robyn Lawrence said the health system was facing "unprecedented demand" in some areas because of "a really bad flu season this year".
"It's not a crisis but it's definitely extremely busy right across our system," Dr Lawrence said.
"We also have 261 patients waiting for residential aged care, which is a 40 per cent uplift since last year."
She said the decision to postpone category 1 elective surgery was up to doctors at individual hospitals.
"If the hospital needs to make that call and they can do it safely, they will make the appropriate decision," she said.
The FMC, the biggest hospital in Adelaide's southern suburbs, is where ambulances spend more time waiting to offload patients — also known as being "ramped" — than any other Adelaide hospital excluding the Royal Adelaide, according to government data which dates back to 2017.
The number of hours ambulances spent ramped outside the FMC increased from 876 in February to 1,121 in March — the biggest spike of any Adelaide hospital.
In June, the SA Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA) said the level of violence has increased in the hospital's emergency department where several patients have threatened doctors and caused property damage.