The Northern Health Division of Surgery has successfully achieved its endoscopy and surgery targets for 2025- 2026. Across the year, teams completed almost 12,000 planned surgeries and more than 8,250 planned endoscopy procedures, ensuring patients received timely access to treatment while improving health outcomes across the community. Alongside this work, the Division also delivered more than 5,500 emergency surgeries, demonstrating the organisation’s ability to balance planned care with the increasing demand for urgent treatment.

While the numbers are impressive, they represent something much more meaningful than a target. Every surgery and every endoscopy completed is a patient who no longer has to wait for treatment, a diagnosis delivered sooner, or a condition addressed before it became more serious. Meeting these targets helps reduce waiting times, supports earlier diagnosis of conditions including cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, and improves the overall patient experience.

Reaching this milestone required an extraordinary effort from teams across Northern Health. From outpatient clinics and bookings to pre-admission, theatres, endoscopy, CSSD, recovery, surgical wards, bed management and countless support services, staff worked together every day to ensure patients moved safely and efficiently through their care journey. It is this collaboration that continues to deliver high-quality care for one of Australia’s fastest-growing communities.

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to every individual and team who contributed to achieving these planned surgical and endoscopy targets,” said Tracey Wyllie, Director of Operations, Division of Surgery, Northern Health.

“Your commitment to timely, safe, and high‑quality care has made a meaningful difference for our patients. Meeting these targets required coordination, flexibility, and problem‑solving at every step. There are so many staff who play a vital role in ensuring patients received the care they needed without delay.  A big thank you and well done to everyone!”

Achieving this milestone is not only a reflection of operational excellence but of the people behind it – whose dedication continues to make a lasting difference to the community we serve.