Speaking in Canberra last week, Paterson MP Meryl Swanson recounted the story of an elderly couple who had been trying to reach an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist.

“For four years the lovely gentleman's wife has had extreme discomfort — persistent earaches, headaches and fluid building up in her ear — not to mention the fear and dread of what might actually be wrong with her and causing these awful symptoms,” Ms Swanson said.

“Every year for four years, her husband phoned the John Hunter to make sure she was still on the list. And every year, he was assured: 'Yes, she's still on the list. Just hang in there'. Finally, there was the last phone call, and, lo and behold, she had an appointment.”

Ms Swanson said the woman was diagnosed with a rare condition that, if left untreated, could have lead to facial palsy and complete hearing loss. 

Ms Swanson described the wait times as “unacceptable” and accused the government of de-funding public hospitals. 

“Proper funding for our hospitals must also be restored,” she said.

“Every Australian should have access to affordable, quality health care when and where they need it.”

In March 2016 Fairfax Media reported wait times in the Hunter had blown out to “several years”. Ms Swanson said, one year on, she was not surprised to hear the couple’s story.

John Hunter Hospital’s acting general manager Professor Michael Hensley said public ENT services were in high demand across the state, including at John Hunter Hospital.

“How long a patient waits for an outpatient appointment depends on their clinical priority,” he said.

“This means that appointments are booked based on urgency, not how long a patient has been on the list.”

Professor Hensley said the majority of patients on the wait list for an appointment at John Hunter Hospital had been waiting less than 12 months but the hospital was working to improve access to ENT outpatient clinics.

“We have recruited an additional two ENT Visiting Medical Officer specialists who will begin work at the hospital in April,” he said.

“Two GP ENTs work exclusively in the ENT outpatient clinic to assist in the management of patients not requiring urgent surgery.

“The ENT clinics have recently been restructured to improve the service for patients and provide more timely care. Now if a specialist appointment is required after a patient has seen the GP ENT, this will happen on the same day. This results in reduced waiting times, as the patient does not need to book in for a second appointment.”

Professor Hensley said the Bureau of Health Information quarterly report (October-December 2016) showed the number of patients waiting for ENT surgery reduced by 30 per cent. 

However the same data shows the median wait time for elective ENT surgery is 56 days, up from 45 days for the same period last year.

The data set also showed the number of patients waiting for medical specialty surgery had more than doubled and neurosurgery had increased by more than 50 per cent.

Across all specialties in John Hunter, there had been an 8.3 per cent increase in patients waiting for surgery.