EMERGENCY surgery will continue to be performed and emergency departments will be open 24 hours a day over the Christmas/New Year period at Mid North Coast Local Health District (MNCLHD) facilities.
CEO Stewart Dowrick said the holiday period made no difference to unscheduled or emergency surgery, which would continue to be performed, as would essential procedures such as renal dialysis, and hospital emergency departments would continue to be open 24 hours a day.
However, hospitals across the MNCLHD would see a reduction in the level of elective surgery taking place over the Christmas and New Year period.
“The annual holiday break is the time when most clinical staff, including doctors and nurses, prefer to spend time with their families and it makes sense to have a low activity period for surgery when staff take their annual leave,” Mr Dowrick said.
“For staff to take holidays in orderly blocks is a more efficient way to plan rosters and contributes to better year-round management of the surgical system.
“The deferring of elective surgery at this time is accepted by the majority of our patients because many do not want to be in hospital over the festive season.
“People having elective surgery tend to be older and they look forward to spending time with family members, including grandchildren, at this important time of year.”
Mr Dowrick said the period from the end of January through to Easter, another traditional holiday period, was a time of intensive activity for surgical services, as was the second half of each year.
