Healthy Queensland - Hospital waiting times
2020 Target: Shortest public hospital waiting times in Australia
Measure: median waiting time and percentage of patients seen within the clinically recommended time for elective surgery and emergency treatment (source: The State of our Public Hospitals Report, Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing).
Lead agency: Queensland Health.
Current public hospital waiting times
Queensland had the shortest elective surgery waiting time performance in 2007-08.
The median waiting time for elective surgery was 27 days. This was better than the national average at 34 days and lower than all states and territories.
Almost 85% of patients received treatment within the clinically recommended timeframe. This was better than the national average of 84% and places Queensland second among states and territories.
But this good performance is not matched in Queensland's emergency departments.
The median waiting time for emergency treatment was 28 minutes, which is four minutes longer than the national average. 63% of Queenslanders were seen within the clinically recommended emergency waiting time, below the national average of 69%. However, Queensland improved from sixth to third best in just one year.
Share your ideas
How can you lead a healthier lifestyle to avoid needing hospital care? Share your ideas
Last updated Thursday, February 25, 2010
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