Performing surgeries on the weekend is being described as a short-term answer to a long-term problem. 

Hospitals are increasingly running surgical lists on weekends to reduce the huge wait times which built up during the Covid pandemic. 

While that's helped cut some of the worst waiting lists, medical staff claim it's also contributed to a rise in surgery cancellations as nursing rosters are run thin. 

Association of General Surgeons President Vanessa Blair told Mike Hosking that weekend surgeries have been done before, but don't resolve the underlying reasons for long-wait times.

She says it's a complex issue, but asking people to work weekends is not a long-term solution. 

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