Joshua Maxwell, a 32-year-old from the New South Wales Central Coast, waited 238 days for open-heart surgery at Westmead Hospital, despite being classified as a Category 2 patient whose surgery should have occurred within 90 days. He has a congenital heart defect that required the surgery to avoid the risk of stroke.
Maxwell said he thought he was going to die during the wait, drafting a will, saying goodbye to family, and planning a funeral. His surgeon had wanted the procedure done within 30 days. After 210 days on the waiting list, he finally received a surgery date.
Dr. Jenny King, deputy chair of the Westmead Medical Staff Council, blamed a lack of funding for the Western Sydney region for the delays. She stated, 'We aren't staffed, we aren't funded, we aren't resourced for the demands of our community.'
Maxwell said he was never told why he had to wait so long. He is speaking out because he is concerned other patients could die waiting for surgery at Westmead Hospital.
A spokesperson for the Western Sydney Local Health District sincerely apologized to Maxwell for the delay and said that as of June this year, there were no overdue patients requiring heart surgery.
