Elective surgery is surgery that is not urgently required due to an emergency. Elective surgery may be performed for medical purposes, such as cataract surgery, or for other work such as breast implants. These are procedures that the person requiring them decides to undertake, and which may be helpful, but are not necessarily essential.
Before a woman decides to undergo a hysterectomy she should carefully explore all of her options. Many of these conditions can be successfully treated with alternative methods and procedures.
In 2002-03, over four million Australians were admitted to our public hospitals, over half a million people had elective surgery and nearly four million people went to an emergency department for treatment.
A comprehensive report shows the health of Australians continues to improve and as a nation we are healthier than we’ve ever been.
Researchers from Otago University's Wellington and Dunedin Schools of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Victoria University's Health Services Research Centre aim to find out what happens to patients GPs think would benefit from surgery. They will be looking at how long patients wait, who has surgery in public hospitals, who goes to private hospitals, what the costs of waiting are to patients and to the health system and what the benefits are of having surgery.