The proportion of separations for selected types of surgery that result in readmission to hospital within 28 days is regarded as an indicator of the safety and quality of admitted patient care in hospitals. Data for this indicator are only available for public hospitals, and only for readmissions to the hospital in which the surgery was performed. Readmissions to other hospitals are not included, so the readmission rates are likely to be underestimated.
In 2009–10, hysterectomy was followed by readmissions on about 3% of occasions, followed by prostatectomy and tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy. Readmissions following cataract surgery were relatively much rarer (Figure 28).
Figure 28: Readmissions within 28 days to the same public hospital following selected types of surgery, 2009–10
