A patient who waited over 200 days for surgery at Sydney’s largest hospital says he is disheartened that he has not received any follow-up from NSW Health Minister Ryan Park since his story was made public.<\/p>\n
Joshua Maxwell was booked in for an elective open-heart surgery at Westmead Hospital in May 2024, after his body started rejecting medication needed to keep him stroke-free.<\/p>\n
His surgeon classified him as a category two patient, meaning his surgery should have taken place within 90 days. His surgeon assured him it should not take longer than 45 days.<\/p>\n
As he waited for his surgery date, Mr Maxwell left his job, drafted a will, and even planned a funeral in case he died while waiting for the life-saving operation.<\/p>\n
It was not until after he contacted his local state MP, David Harris, that he underwent surgery in late January 2025 \u2014 210 days after he was first added to the list.<\/p>\n
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Mr Maxwell still wants answers on what happened to his case. (ABC News: Victoria Pengilley)<\/p>\n
‘Complete radio silence’, says patient<\/p>\n
Mr Park apologised to Mr Maxwell through the media earlier this month, saying the 32-year-old’s wait time was “not acceptable”.<\/p>\n
“We let Joshua down,” Mr Park said in sit-down interview with the ABC.<\/p>\n
“It’s too long. It’s not acceptable, and I apologise to him and his family.”<\/p>\n
But Mr Maxwell said in the two weeks since his story was made public, he has received no follow-up from the minister or hospital management.<\/p>\n
“I’ve had absolutely no contact from the department or the minister; it’s been complete radio silence,” Mr Maxwell said.<\/p>\n
Mr Maxwell has written a letter to Mr Park, stating he is not “ready to accept any apologies offered”.<\/p>\n
“It’s disheartening \u2026 I think an apology needs to be made in person or in writing, not via the media,” he said.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson from the health minister’s office said Mr Park “will respond to Josh’s correspondence in due course”.<\/p>\n
“Minister Park receives a large volume of correspondence and attempts to respond to them as quickly as possible,” they said.<\/p>\n
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Ryan Park apologised to Mr Maxwell through the media earlier this month, but the 32-year-old says he has not heard from him since. (ABC News: Ethan Rix)<\/p>\n
Calls for NSW patient care team<\/p>\n