Waiting times for elective surgery
Definition: The median waiting times for elective surgery in public hospitals, which indicates the time within which 50% of patients were admitted for the awaited procedure. Data are presented as a number of days.
Note: Based on data from the National Elective Surgery Waiting Times Data Collection, which covered an estimated 95% of public hospital elective surgery in 2016–17.
Source: National Elective Surgery Waiting Times Data Collection, 2016–17; Table S1.4.36.
- In 2016–17, the median waiting time for all admissions from the public hospital elective surgery waiting list was 38 days. This was an increase of 4 days from the median waiting time of 34 days in 2007–08.
- Coronary artery bypass graft and Cystoscopy had the lowest median waiting times nationally (13 and 24 days, respectively). Septoplasty and Total knee replacement had the longest median waiting times (209 and 195 days, respectively).
- Overall, Indigenous Australians had longer median waiting times than Other Australians for elective surgery (45 days compared with 38 days). The greatest differences between the two groups was for Septoplasty (301 days for Indigenous Australians and 208 days for Other Australians), Total knee replacement (251 days and 193 days) and Cataract extraction (130 days and 85 days). Indigenous Australians had lower median waiting times than Other Australians for Myringoplasty (125 days compared with 186 days).
For more information, see Chapter 7.11 'Elective surgery'.