Waiting times for orthopaedic surgeries, including total hip and knee replacements, have increased to seven and 10 months respectively, Bureau of Health Information (BHI) quarterly data shows.

The data, from the July to September 2017 quarter, shows that patients are now waiting an average of 211 days for a hip replacement (up from 160), and 321 days (up from 174) for a knee replacement.

A Western NSW Local Health District spokeswoman said the funds will result in extra surgeries being conducted.

“The district was successful in receiving $976,000 in funding for additional surgery in Western NSW as part of the additional $3 million the NSW Government is providing through the Increasing Access to Elective Surgery Initiative 2017,” she said.

“The funding will ensure an additional 60 cataract removal, 28 total hip replacement and 15 total knee replacement procedures will be performed this financial year.”

While funding will be directed towards cataract removal surgeries, wait time for the procedure has actually dropped from 221 days to 179 days.

Overall, in this quarter, 508 elective surgeries were performed at Bathurst Hospital compared to the 460 during the same period last year.

“All urgent and non-urgent elective surgeries were performed within the clinically recommended time frame,” the spokeswoman said.

“Every hospital in the Western NSW Local Health District has improved its elective surgery performance since 2010, including Bathurst Base Hospital.

“Increases in median wait times for elective surgery are reflective of a growing population in Bathurst requiring elective surgery.

“Decreases in wait times highlight the types of elective surgery people within the community required during the quarter.”