Waiting times for elective cataract surgery (days)
- Measure 3.6.2
- The proportion of patients who completed their wait who had cataract surgery within 90 days and within 365 days. To make it easier to interpret, the figure shows the proportion who waited more than 365 days for cataract surgery.
The waiting times measures provide an indicator of access to cataract surgery for those on waiting lists managed by public hospitals (Figure 40 and Figure 41).
Figure 40: Waiting times for elective cataract surgery (days), 2012–13 to 2020–21
Measure 3.6.2: The proportion of patients who completed their wait who had cataract surgery within 90 days and more than 365 days.
Waiting times for elective cataract surgery (days), 2012–13 to 2020–21
Waiting times (treated within 365 days) for elective cataract surgery by Indigenous status, 2012-13 to 2019-20
This line chart shows the percentage of patients waiting more than 365 days for elective cataract surgery, from 2012–13 to 2020–21, by Indigenous status. The chart shows that while there has always been more First Nations people that were not treated within 365 days the gap has narrowed significantly. In 2012-13, the percent was 6.6 for Indigenous and 3.2 for non-Indigenous. In 2020-21, 16% of First Nations people and 14.6% of non-Indigenous Australians waited more than one year for cataract surgery
- Between 2012–13 and 2020–21, the proportion of First Nations people treated within 90 days for elective cataract surgery remained relatively stable while the proportion of non-Indigenous Australians treated dropped over this period (from 50% to 38%).
- The proportion of First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians treated within 365 days dropped between 2012–13 and 2020–21 (from 93% to 84% and from 97% to 85%, respectively).
Figure 41: Waiting times for elective cataract surgery (days): interactive data
Waiting times for elective cataract surgery (days): interactive data
This interactive visualisation shows 2 separate charts for Waiting times for elective cataract surgery by Indigenous status by various characteristics.
Waiting times (days) for elective cataract surgery by Indigenous status and region, 2019-21
This bar chart shows the percentage of patients treated within 90 days for elective cataract surgery, in 2019–21, by Indigenous status and region. The chart shows that in all regions except Outer regional the percentage of First Nations patients treated within 90 days was lower than non-Indigenous.
This bar chart also shows the percentage of patients waiting more than 365 days for elective cataract surgery in 2019–21, by Indigenous status and region. The chart shows that in Major cities and Outer regional areas a smaller percentage of Indigenous than non-Indigenous Australians waited longer than 365 days.
Waiting times (days) for elective cataract surgery by Indigenous status and jurisdiction, 2019-21
This bar chart shows the percentage of patients waiting more than 90 days for elective cataract surgery, in 2019–21, by Indigenous status and jurisdiction. The chart shows that in NSW, Qld and SA a slightly higher percentage of Indigenous patients were treated within 90 days.
This bar chart also shows the percentage of patients waiting more than 365 days for elective cataract surgery in 2019–21, by Indigenous status and jurisdiction. The chart shows in all states except WA and the NT a larger percentage of First Nations people than non-Indigenous Australians waited longer than 365 days.
- In 2020–21, the proportion of First Nations people who had elective cataract surgery and were treated within 90 days was similar to the proportion of non-Indigenous Australians who were treated within this time (37.7% and 38%, respectively).
- In 2020–21, the proportion of First Nations people treated within 365 days for cataract surgery was similar to the proportion of non-Indigenous Australians who were treated within this time (84% and 85.4%, respectively).