Patients across Western NSW are benefitting from improved access to planned surgery, following the Minns Labor Government’s $30 million investment to expand High Volume Short Stay surgical services across the state.
As part of this investment, high volume short stay surgery model of care has been established across the Western NSW Local Health District.
The model is helping to increase surgical capacity, improve theatre utilisation, and support patients to access surgery in a timely manner while supporting more efficient use of surgical services across the region.
As the WNSWLHD model expands, a range of specialties, including ophthalmology, urology, endoscopy and other short stay surgical procedures, will become areas of focus.
Around 100 surgeries have been completed since the program began.
High Volume Short Stay surgeries are planned procedures where patients are admitted for up to 72 hours.
Statewide, the number of overdue surgeries peaked at more than 18,000 under the Liberals. Since being elected, the Minns Labor Government has reduced the number of people waiting longer than clinically recommended from 14,059 in March 2023 to 3,955 in March 2026.
The $30 million one-off injection builds on the $200 million invested since 2024 to reduce overdue surgeries, and the establishment of the state’s first Surgery Hub at Northern Beaches Hospital, which has been active since 1 July and is expected to perform up to 5,000 additional surgeries per year.
The 2026-27 NSW Budget also included $10.3 billion to support increased capacity across the health system, including to deliver an estimated 2,900 additional planned surgeries.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health, Ryan Park:
“The Minns Labor Government has taken action to slash the overdue surgery waitlist left behind by the Coalition.
“This is a significant boost to surgery services across Western NSW, that will help patients access care sooner, recover faster, and spend less time in the hospital.
“We are investing in surgery services across the state, expanding access to care, delivering surgeries on time, and improving patient outcomes.”
