The median waiting time for elective surgery is a measure of access to elective surgery. Data were available for a subset of elective surgery in public hospitals, defined as those removed from waiting lists for a range of surgical procedures. The median waiting time is the number of days within which 50% of patients were removed from elective surgery waiting lists.
In public hospitals, 50% of patients waited 36 days or less for elective surgery in 2011-12, an increase from 34 days in 2007-08. A total of 2.7% waited more than a year.
- Median waiting time varied across states and territories. The lowest was 27 days in Queensland, and the highest was 63 days in the Australian Capital Territory (Figure 44).
- Ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery and ear, nose and throat surgery were the surgical specialties with the longest median waiting times (74, 63, and 66 days respectively) in 2011-12 (Figure 45).
- Cardiothoracic surgery had the shortest median waiting time (16 days).
- Coronary artery bypass graft was the procedure with the shortest median waiting time (16 days) and total knee replacement had the longest median waiting time (184 days) (Figure 45).
More information on waiting times for public hospital elective surgery by surgical specialty and by procedure for each state and territory is presented in Figures 44a-44h and Figures 45a-45h, below.