Surgeries up, wait times down
by Courtney O'Brien
A record-breaking 218,000 planned surgeries were completed in Victoria in 2025/26 and West Gippsland Hospital performed better than the state average in almost all areas.
West Gippsland Hospital completed 4898 patient surgeries between January 2025 and March 2026.
The hospital performed better than the statewide average on almost all measures, including patients removed from planned surgery lists, hospital-initiated postponements, patients who waited longer than 365 days for surgery and maximum time to treatment.
West Gippsland Healthcare Group (WGHG) executive director of clinical operations Maree Fellows said the hospital's strong planned surgery performance had been driven by efficient theatre utilisation, proactive waitlist management and a co-ordinated perioperative model that supported patients from referral through to recovery.
"WGHG has continued to strengthen patient flow and discharge practices through contemporary models of care that support earlier recovery and discharge where clinically appropriate.
"Enhanced pre-admission processes and perioperative planning have further improved efficiency across our patient's surgical journeys," she said.
Between January 2025 and March 2026, WGH treated, on average, 979 patients for surgery, each quarter.
Patients removed from planned surgery waiting lists fluctuated over the year but ultimately increased from 106 in January to March 2025 to 147 in October to December 2025, before dropping back to 110 in January to March, 2026.
The number of times WGH initiated a postponement of a patient's planned surgery, averaged 3.8 per 100 admissions between January 2025 and March 2026, well below the state average of 6.7 per 100 admissions.
Ms Fellows said WGHG had invested in innovations that improved efficiency, patient experience, and earlier access to care across the surgical pathway.
"These include implementation of VicKey, a digital platform that streamlines patient preparation and waitlist management processes, and establishment of a dedicated Patient Support Unit to support surgical readiness and pathway co-ordination."
The hospital also has a dedicated Patient Support Unit, patient optimisation and preparation programs, digital waitlist management and validation processes, high-throughput theatre utilisation, and criteria-led discharge pathways that support efficient patient flow.
Patients at WGH who waited longer than 365 days for treatment dropped from 4.85 per cent in January - March 2025 to 2.82 per cent January to March in 2026; the statewide average was 4.29 per cent and 3.05 per cent respectively for the same time periods.
The maximum time 90 per cent of patients had to wait for surgery decreased over the year, from 208.5 days in January - March 2025, to 153 days in January - March 2026, compared to the state average of 212 days and 199 days respectively.
WGHG seeks to continue the success and will be rolling out the VicKey Specialist Clinic Audit module in December 2026, which is a secure online platform used to communicate with patients about their care.
"This will strengthen referral management, clinic efficiency, and patient pathway optimisation. Together, these enhancements will help improve access, coordination, and timeliness of care for patients requiring specialist consultation and planned surgery," Ms Fellows said..
