Critical surgeries on cancer patients will go ahead after a Sydney hospital scrapped a ban on the procedures it imposed to save money this financial year.
The delay in peritonectomy surgeries had been put in place by St George Hospital until July 1, when the next financial year begins.
The hospital in Sydney's south is the only one in NSW to perform the specialist peritonectomy operations, which are conducted by Professor David Morris.
There are 42 people currently waiting for the surgery, 20 of whom have already waited longer than is clinically recommended.
St George Hospital on Friday night backflipped on the decision, saying the surgeries would not be postponed.
The hospital's operations director, Cath Whitehurst, said the decision had been made after its clinical council reconsidered the earlier decision.
"The St George Hospital Clinical Council has today further considered the constraints to the capacity of the hospital and the peritonectomy services and has decided peritonectomy surgery will not be ceasing," Ms Whitehurst said in a statement.
"All NSW Category 1 peritonectomy patients will next week be re-assessed for surgery by the Peritonectomy Clinical Review Committee."
She said the hospital would determine "the most appropriate and urgent peritonectomy cases to be undertaken".
From June, six NSW peritonectomy surgery cases, including emergency procedures, would be performed each month, the hospital said.
However, it said the surgeries would be "subject to the capacity of the hospital, taking into account the urgency and needs of all other patients".
An independent clinician would help prioritise and determine the six most appropriate cases for each month.
Future demand for peritonectomies would be determined through a statewide process.
Earlier, NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner defended the postponement, saying the health budget was not unlimited.
Ms Skinner said Prof Morris had already performed 81 operations this year, many of them on patients from interstate and overseas, which was nine more than his limit.
Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek blamed the situation on the NSW government's $3 billion cuts to the health system.
She said it was critical for the NSW government to manage the health system better so it could provide the necessary care for its citizens.
Meanwhile, Australian Medical Association NSW president Brian Owler called for an increase in health funding of at least seven per cent in the upcoming state budget.
Patient Sara Bowers said she had to wait four months for Prof Morris to operate on her.
"It's a terrifying place to be - you can't sleep at night, you can't eat, you can't think, you can't go to work. It completely assumes your every waking moment: the fact that you have cancer and you are being left to die," she told reporters.
The NSW opposition welcomed the hospital's decision but urged the government to do more on the issue.
"The O'Farrell government should be resourcing the hospital to do three of these surgeries per week so the backlog can be fixed," opposition health spokesman Andrew McDonald said in a statement.
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