The government of Western Australia (WA) has allocated A$40m ($26.32m) to WA Health to carry out a further 6,000 elective surgeries and procedures.

This funding aims to reduce the elective surgery waiting list, which is claimed to have fallen by 8,600 patients over the past two years due to system-wide reforms.

The recent surge in elective surgeries has been attributed to weekend theatre use, 'twilight procedures' and contemporary methods to minimise patients' hospital stays.

This investment is part of the government's efforts to reform the state's health system, including addressing ambulance ramping, enhancing weekend services and providing more step-down care options for older individuals.

WA Premier Roger Cook said: “The A$40m boost will mean thousands more Western Australians can be scheduled for surgery in the next six months.

“We have proactively identified and are tackling inefficiencies across the health system.

"There is still a lot of work to do, but with the right funding and reform initiatives we can make sure that Western Australia continues to have the best hospital services in Australia.”

The government has also increased the state's hospital capacity by 571 beds, equivalent to a new tertiary hospital, since the 2021‑2022 Budget.

It has hired more than 1,000 nurses and 600 medical staff since June 2022.

In addition, new arrangements are due to be implemented in the coming year to optimise the use of private hospital capacity through a streamlined panel process.

WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said: "Our A$489.9m emergency care package to improve access to care and system-wide reform has reduced ramping hours, and enabled beds to be freed up so that we can undertake these additional 6,000 elective surgeries and procedures.

"I commend the health services providers for their efforts in reducing elective surgery waitlists and this investment will enable hospitals to undertake even more surgeries."