The Australian Medical Association believes there is a ‘hidden waiting list’ for patients needing surgery, causing further chaos to the health system.

President of the Australian Medical Association, Professor Steve Robson, claims people are waiting up to 900 days for essential appointments, and therefore cannot get on the waiting list for elective surgeries.

The official state government website for health states 28,894 people are on the waitlist for elective surgeries, with Professor Robson believing the figure to be just the tip of the iceberg.

“This is highly embarrassing data for health departments,” Professor Robson told Liam Bartlett on 6PR Mornings.

“We believe it’s a national scandal and we need to shine a light on it for patient wellbeing.”

“It’s time that the community understood there’s the waiting list we can see but the hidden waiting list is something that needs to be exposed, shun a light on and tackled as soon as possible.”

Press PLAY to hear about the ‘hidden waiting list’ causing chaos in the health system 

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