"COVID-19 shutdowns caused a significant deterioration in elective surgery waiting lists. As well as calling for federal and state governments to work together on a national plan to address the backlog, the Election Statement also calls for a review of the national definitions for elective surgery urgency categories.
"Significantly, we would like the term 'elective surgery' to be reconsidered. The sector must be careful that the terminology used to define types of surgery does not result in the importance of these procedures being diminished, or be used to implicitly justify long waiting times," says RACS Councillor Professor Mark Frydenberg.
The Election Statement also calls on the Australian federal government to:
• work with other jurisdictions and stakeholders, including medical colleges, on the development of policies, programs and processes to implement the recommendations contained in the Australian Human Rights Commission 2020 Respect
