THE NSW government has waived a $432 ambulance bill for a man who was discharged from hospital early after heart surgery.
Health minister Jillian Skinner on Tuesday denied opposition claims Sid Jackson was discharged early from St George Hospital after having an aortic valve replacement because of a shortage of hospital beds.
She told parliament the government decided not to charge the Leumeah man for the ambulance because of "exceptional circumstances".
"His discharge was not related to any bed shortages at St George Hospital," she said in question time on Tuesday.
Ms Skinner said he was discharged because his consultant surgeon had deemed it medically safe.
Shortly after being discharged, Mr Jackson called an ambulance to take him back to hospital.
But Ms Skinner said according to the consultant surgeon his return to hospital "was due to a pre-existing condition and was unrelated to his heart valve replacement surgery".
The opposition has also attacked the government over the 105 days Mr Jackson waited for urgent heart surgery he required within 30 days.
But Ms Skinner said his surgery was regarded as "semi-urgent", meaning it should have been completed within 90 days.
Admitting his procedure was delayed because of other patients more urgent needs, Ms Skinner said "everything was done appropriately."
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