More than 3,000 emails sat unread in an unmonitored inbox at Canterbury Hospital in south-west Sydney, delaying elective surgery referrals for 16 patients, ABC News and AAP reported. ABC News put the number of emails at about 3,400.

Four of the patients were classed as Category One, meaning surgery is recommended within 30 days, and 12 as Category Two, within 90 days, ABC News and AAP reported. Some of the referrals dated back to late 2025, ABC News reported.

The Sydney Local Health District apologized and launched a review, ABC News reported. A health district spokesperson said admission dates had been urgently set for the affected patients and their surgeons contacted, ABC News and AAP reported.

Fred Betros, New South Wales president of the Australian Medical Association, warned of the risk to patients, ABC News and AAP reported. "So those patients who have breached their waiting times, some of them will be OK, but the problem is, some won't," he said, according to ABC News. "If a patient does not receive investigations or treatment in a certain timeframe, it can have devastating repercussions for them and their families," he said, according to AAP.

Category One patients may have cancerous tumors or need heart bypass surgery, Betros said, AAP reported.

The state opposition's shadow minister for south-west Sydney called for a full and independent review with public findings, ABC News reported. "This is a basic failure with potentially serious consequences," the opposition health spokesperson said, AAP reported. The health minister's office referred questions to NSW Health, AAP reported.

What we know: More than 3,000 unread emails at Canterbury Hospital delayed surgery referrals for 16 patients, four of them urgent.
What we don't: Whether any patient was harmed by the delay, and whether other hospitals have similar unmonitored inboxes.