Doctors will perform an extra 1000 procedures in the first half of 2016 in a bid to slash the number of Canberrans waiting for elective surgery.
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The ACT government will spend $11.8 million on the elective surgery blitz in an effort to slash above-average wait times.
Health Minister Simon Corbell, who announced the surgery blitz on Wednesday, said there were 1245 Canberrans waiting for elective surgery.
Canberra Hospital and Calvary Hospital will take the bulk of the extra operations, largely orthopaedic, urology and ear, nose and throat surgeries, with the support of Calvary John James Hospital in Deakin.
"We will be working very hard to see as many Canberrans as possible removed from the elective surgery waiting list where they've been waiting too long for their surgery," he said.
"We're confident we can substantially reduce the long-wait list if not eliminate it and the challenge then will be to manage our list effectively so that we don't see long waits reappear on that list.
"My priority as Health Minister is to improve access and timeliness to healthcare and this is the first major reform step being undertaken to deliver that."
Although the median wait time for elective surgery in the ACT has been reduced from 79 days two years ago to 42 days today, the figure is still significantly higher than the national average of 35 days.
This is despite ACT public hospitals performing 11,875 elective surgeries in 12 months, the highest figure recorded and a 1 per cent increase on 2013-14 records.
Mr Corbell said existing surgeons and medical staff were capable of undertaking more operations to cut the waiting list to zero.
"They've indicated in many instances they are ready, willing and able to do more elective surgery work," he said.
"Where we do need some additional capability, for example, in areas around anaesthetists or in relation to some other specialities, we will secure locum services to deliver that."
Mr Corbell said theatre booking systems and the preparation of patients for surgery could be carried out in a "much more intensive manner".
"The challenge has been to make sure we utilise our theatre time more effectively," he said.
"We've gone back and reviewed how our theatres are operating and identified that there is significant opportunities to use theatre time more efficiently."
Calvary chief executive officer Karen Edwards said more than 40 per cent of long-wait patients were waiting for surgery at the northside hospital.
"We haven't finalised the exact number but we will probably do over half of the additional 1000 [surgeries]," she said.
"I think it's really important to the people of Canberra that we do reduce the number of people who have been waiting longer than is clinically grounded for their surgeries."
She said the hospital would consider after-hours or evening surgical procedures and flexible staff arrangements, such as using casual staff and asking part-time staff to take on additional hours.
"People won't be working onerous hours as part of this," she said.
Canberra Hospital deputy director general Ian Thompson welcomed the additional surgeries.
"It's always an issue, where people are waiting longer than the clinically-recommended waiting times," he said.
"This is an opportunity to try and reduce the number of people, for more people to get their surgery and to get their surgery more quickly."
Mr Thompson expected Canberra Hospital to undertake about one-third of the 1000 surgeries.
He said the hospital had enough staff to accommodate the extra operations and surgeons could offer to work more hours.
"We're confident we'll find the staff we need," he said.
