Patients at Victoria's leading cancer hospital could have potentially life-changing surgeries delayed due to staff shortages.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre confirmed it has identified some elective surgery lists which could be postponed due to the staffing issues.
The hospital is Australia's only public health service dedicated to treating cancer and is known as one of the world's leading research and treatment centres.
Last quarter, more than 600 people were waiting for surgery at the hospital.
The postponed procedures are expected to impact less than 10 per cent of patients during the month of February. A spokesperson said the most urgent patients, in category one, would be prioritised.
"Like many other health services, we are working hard to attract new staff and retain the wonderful staff who already work here," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"Recruitment is underway with a number of additional highly skilled clinical staff commencing at Peter Mac shortly."
Jill Tomlinson, vice president of the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association, said the workforce issue was due to "significant shortages of theatre nursing staff".
Dr Tomlinson is a surgeon who often works with skin cancer patients.
"Delays in surgery cause significant distress for patients. It also distresses the clinicians who are treating them," she said.
"We know the impact of delaying surgery, it creates both pain [and] anxiety. And it also can mean that a condition for the patient clinically deteriorates."
She said across the state, ongoing delays were particularly affecting patients classed as category three — the least urgent category with wait times of sometimes more than a year.
"We have a much greater hidden waiting list and a much greater visible waiting list compared to other states," she said.
In Victoria, elective surgery is defined as any necessary surgery that can be delayed for at least 24 hours.
The state's waitlist was already long before the pandemic hit and ballooned after consecutive lockdowns.
"Plans have been developed to further increase surgery numbers across 2023," the Peter MacCallum spokesperson said.
"This includes adding additional surgery lists and other measures to support the Victorian government's plan to improve access to elective surgery."
The delays have been exacerbated by staff shortages around the country, especially in the field of nursing.
'No growth in nursing numbers'
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation's Victorian branch assistant secretary Paul Gilbert said healthcare staffing was still suffering from the impacts of the pandemic when international recruitment was stopped.
"We've seen a growth in demand but no comparable growth in nursing numbers," he said.
"The impact of the pandemic is creating short staffing and short staffing is creating a lack of desire for people to come into work when they don't have to."
Mr Gilbert said a trial of flexible rostering was being rolled out at three major healthcare centres in a bid to alleviate time pressures.
"Health services take the view that you must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Well, I'm sorry but life doesn't work like that," he said.
"We have to turn that around and say 'this is an industry where you can choose your shifts … to suit your needs."
The state government's so-called Pandemic Repair Plan and COVID-19 Catch Up Plan have allocated millions of dollars to recruit and train new staff, open more operating theatres and free up emergency departments.
Dr Tomlinson acknowledged "there is no quick fix on workforce".
"It is something that requires whole-of-system reform. And I recognise that it's not an easy problem for the government to deal with, but we do need urgent action," she said.
The Peter MacCallum spokesperson said the centre treated all of 2022's category one patients within the set timeframe of 30 days, and performed more elective procedures than initially planned in the second half of last year.
"We continually review our elective surgery plans to minimise the risk of last-minute cancellations which we know cause the most concern for patients – and our staff caring for them."
The government said the centre remained on track to meet its annual targets for planned surgery this year.
