Triple spotlight on timely elective surgery
For the second year in a row, no patient in Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD) hospitals has waited beyond the clinically recommended timeframe for elective surgery, an achievement known as ‘Triple Zero.’
The Triple Zero target reflects NSW Health’s benchmark for timely access to surgery across three categories of urgency and is measured annually across all Local Health Districts.
For the second consecutive year, NBMLHD has successfully met the target, reinforcing the District’s strong commitment to safe, equitable and timely surgical care.
Achieving Triple Zero involves no patients waiting beyond 30 days for urgent surgeries, 90 days for semi-urgent surgeries, and 365 days for non-urgent procedures within a financial year period (1 July to 30 June).
Nepean Hospital is NBMLHD’s busiest and most complex surgical site and presents the greatest challenge to achieving Triple Zero.
“This isn’t about 10 or 20 patients, we’re talking about hundreds of people due for surgery each month,” says Angelo Fatato, NBMLHD Nurse Manager for Surgical Access.
“It’s a balancing act across every site, and getting to zero means every patient received care on time and without unnecessary delay.”
Angelo Fatato, Nurse Manager Surgical Access, NBMLHD
NBMLHDs smaller facilities also played key roles, helping to ease Nepean’s surgical load through inter-hospital transfers. Hawkesbury Hospital successfully accommodated a number of transferred cases from Nepean thanks to successful collaboration between the two facilities.
“Triple Zero sounds like a simple goal, but it’s incredibly hard to do,” explains Angelo Fatato. “Each month brings new challenges, like flu season or school holidays, but we kept momentum through careful planning and collaboration.”
A key contributor to this success was the appointment of NBMLHD’s first District Waitlist Manager, a role created to oversee elective surgery access, enable better coordination between sites, and streamline patient transfers and planning.
“Achieving Triple Zero is a Team effort, requiring great communication and commitment,” says Jane Chan, District Waitlist Manager at NBMLHD.
“I would personally like to thank all that have been involved, especially the Surgical Bookings Clerks at Nepean, Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Hawkesbury. It’s a great outcome for patients.”
Additional enablers included monthly theatre forecasting, improved booking processes, and the use of real-time data to allow faster decision making and better coordination across facilities.
NBMLHD’s Director of Surgery and Director of Strategy and Innovation, Professor Mohamed Khadra AO says new initiatives such as the Nepean Women’s and Children’s Hysteroscopy Clinic and outsourcing to private providers also helped increase efficiency in high-demand areas including Orthopaedics, Urology, Gynaecology and General Surgery.
“As with all achievements in Health, attaining Triple Zero status is the result of a team of committed individuals, bookings staff, theatre nurses, surgeons, anaesthetists and hospital leadership all working together.”
Professor Mohamed Khadra AO, Director of Surgery and Director of Strategy and Innovation, NBMLHD
Achieving zero overdue elective surgeries for two years running reflects NBMLHD’s district-wide commitment to timely, safe, and equitable care, ensuring every patient receives treatment within the timeframe their condition requires.