SA elective surgery figures 'improved'

The South Australian government has hailed an improvement in elective surgery procedures in its hospitals.

Health Minister John Hill said the growth in the number of procedures performed in SA was the second highest in the nation while waiting times had also fallen.

According to Australian hospital statistics, the median wait for surgery fell from 40 to 38 days between 2006/07 to 2010/2011.

By October 2011 the wait was further down to 34 days while nationally the figure was 36 days.

Mr Hill said South Australia had met all the requirements of the National Health Reform Agreement in 2010/11 for elective surgery and expected to do so again in 2011/12.

"I am very proud of the work of our surgeons and health professionals to perform increased levels of elective surgery for the benefit of South Australians," Mr Hill said.

"Our aim is to ensure that every patient receives their surgery within national clinical urgency timeframes."

But the SA opposition said the number of elective surgery patients treated within acceptable timeframes had deteriorated over the past 12 months.

Opposition health spokesman Martin Hamilton-Smith said most hospitals were struggling to cope with demand.

He added figures obtained in answers to parliamentary questions showed the percentage of urgent elective surgery patients not being treated within 30 days had increased from 12 to 13 per cent.

The number of non-urgent cases failing to be treated within a year had doubled from three to six per cent, he said.

"Many elective surgery patients are in great pain and discomfort and include prostate cancer sufferers and other cancer victims, orthopaedic patients needing joint and bone surgery and other serious illnesses not classed as emergency conditions," Mr Hamilton-Smith added.