Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:50): (1969) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health and relates to robot-assisted surgery in public hospitals in the north of the electorate.
Surgical cancer margin rates are consistently better where a robot is used. This has resulted in a progressively greater discrepancy between the public and private systems in Victoria, to the point where margin rates are approximately 300 per cent worse in the public system compared to the private sector. Multivariate analysis suggests that this is largely related to the non-use of surgical robots.
Currently there are surgical robots being installed in public hospitals in Victoria in areas such as Ballarat but not in hospitals in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
My constituent, who is a clinical surgeon, asks: will the minister outline when and where surgical robots will be installed in Melbourne’s northern public hospitals?
Fiona Patten MP
Leader of Reason
Member for Northern Metropolitan Region
Constituency question 1/9/22
