Record elective surgeries show things could be looking up for Canberra's health system

Signs of elective surgery wait time improvements in Canberra hospitals as new minister prepares to take over Wed 29 Jul 2026 at 1:13pm , updatedWed 29 Jul 2026 at 1:37pm In short: According to government data, nearly 18,000 elective surgeries were completed in Canberra last financial year — a new record for the system. There are still more than 1,000 people overdue for elective surgery. What's next? Incoming health minister Marisa Paterson says she is eager to continue the "significant work" in the sector that outgoing minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has done. The ACT's health portfolio is changing hands for the first time in seven years, with new minister Marisa Paterson inheriting a sector plagued by chronically long surgery waiting lists. However, the latest elective surgery figures indicate the situation may be improving. While waiting lists are indeed "still long", a record number of elective surgeries were performed at Canberra hospitals in 2025-26. Nearly 18,000 elective surgeries were completed last financial year — a new record for the system, and an increase of 1,000 surgeries on the previous financial year. About 30 per cent of those were for patients from outside the ACT, in the surrounding region. “We've gone from just over 2,000 patients being overdue last year to just over 1,000 now,” Dr Gert Frahm-Jensen, Canberra Hospital's clinical surgery director, said. "And so we've not only caught up on the elective operations that have come in through the year, we've also managed to reduce the long waits of yesteryear." But while the number of patients waiting longer than clinically recommended for their surgery reduced, there are still more than 1,000 patients on the books who are overdue for elective surgery. Record number of elective surgeries The data, released to the ABC yesterday, shows that, as of June 30 this year, 17,569 patients who were on elective surgery waiting lists had their surgeries done. That figure is an increase of 6 per cent — or 1,000 surgeries — on 2024-2025's figures. That improvement is attributed to better patient flow through the new Centralised Operations Centre, and the $100 million government investment in increasing elective surgery capacity. Canberra Health Services (CHS) chief operating officer Alison Derrett confirmed there were still 1,274 people overdue for their elective surgery — which is a 37 per cent decrease on the previous year — but said CHS had been working hard to prioritise category one patients that were meant to have their surgery within 30 days. "Back in January we had about 100 of those patients, and at the end of June we were right down to 14 of those patients," she said. "So we will continue to really target people in their category time frame for surgery." At the end of June, nearly 40 category two patients who should have had surgery within 90 days, had been on the waitlist for more than a year. While health is the ACT government's biggest spend — making up around a third of the annual budget — CHS has had difficulty attracting specialists to the capital, which they've cited as one reason for the long elective surgery wait times for ACT patients. Emergency department wait times in the ACT have also consistently been longer than the national average. Readying to hand the role over, outgoing health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith acknowledged that while "waiting lists are still long," she was confident the health sector was "in a really good place". "We've significantly improved emergency department performance," she said. "We've done a record number of … elective surgeries and are starting to really get that elective surgery waiting list and waiting times down. "There's never going to be a time in the health portfolio where there aren't a lot of challenges, but we have a very clear path forward." 'Up for the challenge' On the whole, the figures would be welcome news for incoming health minister Marisa Paterson. For the first time in seven years, the ACT's health portfolio has changed hands, as part of the Labor cabinet reshuffle sparked by the resignation of then-deputy chief and education minister Yvette Berry last week. Ms Paterson told ABC Radio Canberra that she was "absolutely over the moon" to be appointed health minister, and that she had put herself forward for the role. "It is a very important portfolio that matters to Canberrans, and I think it's a great challenge, and I'm really up for the challenge," she said. She said she was eager to continue the "significant work" Ms Stephen-Smith had done. "A key pressing issue for the government is obviously the enterprise bargaining negotiations that are currently underway," Ms Paterson said. "I'll work very closely with the unions and with Minister Stephen-Smith to work towards a positive outcome there. "But ultimately over the next few months I'm going to be out and about and talking to health workers, working with people in the system, understanding where the issues are, where improvements need to be made, where things are going well." Crucially, Ms Stephen-Smith has held onto the health infrastructure portfolio, which oversees the new hospital build. "I really thought it was important to retain health infrastructure responsibilities at this time because we're in a critical point for the new Northside Hospital and I've been involved throughout this process," Ms Stephen-Smith said. "We're coming towards the end of the very early contractor involvement stage, and this is a critical moment. "It's about providing that continuity for some of our really important health infrastructure projects that are either in critical phases or coming to fruition, and then providing some support still in the health portfolio for the incoming minister to make sure that we can work together and I can support her as she transitions to the portfolio." 'A major problem' But Opposition Leader Mark Parton is not confident the change in ministers will yield a different outcome for Canberra’s health system. Mr Parton told ABC Radio Canberra the health portfolio was "clearly not" in good condition. "There's all sorts of problems, ranging from waiting lists to culture, to problems with delivery of services," he said. "It's a major, major problem. "You can rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic as much as you like, but I don't think it's going to make much difference."