Doctors say they fear a difficult winter to come as the health system on the NSW north coast struggles to cope in the wake of the region's flood catastrophe.
Lismore mother Cheyne Paul started seeking medical help around 12 months ago for severe pain in her abdomen.
After being diagnosed with gall stones she was placed on a waiting list for surgery at the Lismore Base Hospital and told it would take about three months.
But between the pandemic and two major floods, the waiting time blew out.
After the floods she was told she had been pushed further down the waiting list once again.
Ms Paul said it was at that point she gave up on the public health system.
"I was completely dumbfounded when they said there were 100 people in front of me after only having four [before the floods]," she said.
Instead, she and her husband Scott Fisher paid about $6,500 to have the procedure done at a private hospital.
Her operation was completed by a private surgeon on Monday.
It was an added strain on what has already been a tough month for the parents, who are also SES volunteers.
"We lost our business premise in the flood as well."
Mr Fisher said the delays to his wife's surgery had been unacceptable.
"It's really devastating to see your loved one in pain for so long," he said.
"Gall bladder is apparently an elective surgery, I can't see how it's elective by any means, watching her in pain day after day."
Floods a 'perfect storm'
Chris Ingall, the head of a doctors' group at Lismore Base Hospital, said the effects of the floods on Lismore Base Hospital was overwhelming.
"The floods cut off our nursing, our doctors," he said.
"The flood has been the perfect storm for Lismore Base Hospital.
"It has made worse all of the infrastructure issues and brought them to a head in nursing, in beds, and in the decision making at the executive level."
The director of the district's Public Health Unit, Paul Douglas, said the region also saw a spike in injuries and infections from contaminated floodwater.
"We saw with the first flood [on February 28] that we had significant amounts of injuries, wound infections, things like that, up to about 150 per cent at times presenting at all the different hospitals," he said.
Beds blocked as patients left homeless
Dr Ingall said patients who could have been discharged weren't because they'd been left homeless or trapped by the floods and had nowhere to go.
He said it was part of the reason why elective surgeries had been delayed.
The acting chief executive of the Northern New South Wales health district, Lynne Weir, acknowledged it had been a problem.
"People were coming in with injuries … and it wasn't appropriate for everyone to go to evacuation centres, so it did create a small problem," Ms Weir said..
"At times, yes, there were people waiting in the emergency department for a bed, and again, this is because people couldn't get home because all the roads were closed. Nearly every town had a road closed."
Dr Ingall said it has created a dangerous situation.
"We have examples of people who've been on a cancer surgical list to have their cancer removed and then the cancer has spread. Now that increases their risk considerably."
Ms Weir said people are now being directed to temporary accommodation such as motor homes.
Elective surgery ramping up again, but concerns linger
When asked about the delays to Cheyne Paul's surgery, Ms Weir said the health district couldn't comment on individual cases.
She said work is underway to ramp up elective surgery at the public hospitals, as well as work with private facilities where possible.
"We are casting our net as far as we can to try and ensure patients are operated in a timely manner," she said.
"I do understand there have been delays, and I realise that isn't helpful for the patients.
With another COVID peak and a flu season on the way, Dr Ingall said he's worried it will be a difficult winter for health.
He called for a more nimble approach to decision making to help solve the problems.
"I think we need … doctors on the ground, surgeons, aestheticists, physicians, to have a voice in the decision making," said Dr Ingall.
"A lot of us would have, if you like, solutions to these problems that we could bring to the table."
