AGE and climate change are wreaking havoc on eyes across the Northern Tablelands, with cataract surgery becoming the most common procedure performed in the district's public hospitals.
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Double the number of cataract removals were performed at Moree Hospital between October and December 2023, compared with the same time last year, latest data shows.
Armidale and Tamworth hospitals reflected the same trend, while at Inverell hospital, the only surgery performed there over the past three months was cataract removal.
The data has just been published by the Bureau of Health Information, which monitors the performance of state hospitals.
It compared a number of surgeries between October and December 2023 to the same quarter in 2022.
Cataract surgery was by far the most common procedure performed in Moree, Armidale, Inverell and Tamworth hospitals.
Cataracts are a clouding of the lens of the eye. Ageing and exposure to UV sunlight are the main causes of cataracts, which develop slowly over the years.
Surgeons performed 122 cataract extractions at Armidale hospital between October and December 2023, a 30 per cent increase from the same quarter in 2022.
There were 54 cataract removals performed at Inverell Hospital (the only surgery performed there between October and December 2023).
At Moree Hospital, the number of cataract removals performed was 21, or double the number from the 2022 quarter.
Tamworth hospital notched 253 cataract extractions, up 33 per cent.
Armidale was the fourth most common hospital in its peer group for cataract extraction, beaten only by Shellharbour, Grafton and Murwillumbah.
Tamworth hospital performed the most number of cataract surgeries, followed by Armidale (122), Inverell (54) and Moree (21).
Knee replacements performed at Armidale doubled from 12 in October to December 2022 to 24 replacements in the last quarter of 2023.
General surgery performed at the hospital fell by 72 per cent.
At Moree, the only other surgeries performed were five procedures to remove the gall bladder.
There were 39 cystoscopies (an examination of the bladder) performed at Tamworth hospital between October and December 2023, the second most popular surgery there.
The bureau published other key findings across NSW. These included:
- Ambulance demand reached a new record of 379,705 responses, up 9.5 per cent on the same time a year earlier;
- The elective surgery waiting list was down to 88,618 patients at the end of 2023 and is now similar to pre-pandemic levels;
- There were 497,870 admitted patient episodes, up 1.5 per cent from pre-pandemic levels.
