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ELECTIVE surgery waiting lists could be wiped out within 12 months under a new plan being considered by the Federal Government.

Private hospitals are offering to perform 323,000 elective surgery operations if the Government pays, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The blueprint - devised by private hospitals - would wipe out the nation's elective surgery waiting lists twice over, health experts said.

The Australian Private Hospitals Association said private hospitals were currently operating about 77 per cent capacity and could carry out an extra 323,000 elective surgery operations every year.

... The proposal comes as NSW surgery waiting lists have blown out to the worst on record, hitting 66,651 in September and with more than 1700 patients waiting more than a year. This is despite the Rudd Government giving the state an extra $43 million to deal with the problem. NSW private hospitals are already operating at 83 per cent capacity.

Australian Private Hospitals Association chief Michael Roff said they could fit in an extra 33,000 cases of surgery which would slash the state's public hospital waiting list in half.

... Mr Rudd has put off revealing his plans for health reform until next year but on Monday he gave the states a further $300 million to cut hospital waiting lists. Private hospitals said he could have got more for his money if he'd paid for them directly to carry out the operations.

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