Australian Health Performance Framework: PI 2.5.2–Waiting times for elective surgery: waiting times in days, 2020

Collection and usage attributes

Elective surgery is defined in the National Elective Surgery Waiting Times Data Collection (NESWTDC). The NESWTDC includes data collected for patients on elective surgery waiting lists managed by public acute hospitals and/or state and territory health authorities, who are yet to be admitted to hospital and for patients who have been removed from an elective surgery waiting list (for admission or another reason). The NESWTDC includes the date the patient is listed for care and the date the patient is removed from the elective surgery waiting list (removal date).

Selected intended procedures are as defined in permissible values 001 to 017 in Elective surgery waiting list episode—intended procedure, code NNN

Waiting time as defined in Elective surgery waiting list episode—waiting time (at removal), total days N[NNN]. Calculated by jurisdictions by subtracting the listing date for care from the removal date, minus any days the patient was waiting with a less urgent clinical urgency category than their clinical urgency category at removal, and excluding days where the patient was not ready for care.

Waiting times are calculated for patients whose reason for removal was:

1. Admitted as an elective patient for awaited procedure by or on behalf of this hospital or the state/territory.
2. Admitted as an emergency patient for awaited procedure by or on behalf of this hospital or the state/territory.

Analysis by state and territory based on location of service.

Analysis by remoteness and Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) is based on usual residence of the person.

Presented as number of days.

Number of days waited at 50th and 90th percentile.

Calculated overall and for each intended procedure.

The 50th and 90th percentiles have been rounded to the nearest whole number of days.

The calculation is where:

n is the number of observations and

p is the percentile value divided by 100,

then n × p = i + f (where i is an integer and f is the fractional part of n × p).

If n × p is an integer, the percentile value will correspond to the average of the values for the i^th and (i+1)^th observations.

If n × p is not an integer, the percentile value will correspond to the value for the (i+1)^th observation.

2019–20—National.

Nationally, by (all not reported):

• intended procedure
• specialty of surgeon
• SEIFA IRSD deciles
• remoteness (Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure).

Nationally, by intended procedure, by (all not reported):

• Indigenous status
• peer group.

2019–20—State and territory.

2019–20—State and territory by urgency category (median only).

State and territory, by (all not reported):

• intended procedure
• specialty of surgeon
• SEIFA IRSD quintiles
• remoteness (ASGS Remoteness Structure).

State and territory, by intended procedure, by (all not reported):

• Indigenous status
• peer group.

Local Hospital Network, by (all not reported):

• urgency category
• specialty of surgeon
• intended procedure.

Hospital, by (all not reported):

• urgency category
• specialty of surgeon
• intended procedure.

Some disaggregations may result in numbers too small for publication.

Disaggregation by peer group uses the peer group classification as described in the AIHW publication Australian hospital peer groups (AIHW 2015).

Most recent data available for 2020 Australian Health Performance Framework reporting: 2019–20.

For this indicator, the selected intended procedures are a subset of all procedures. In 2018–19, approximately 65% of waiting list removals did not fall into one of the selected intended procedures.

For 2018–19 data, the 2016 SEIFA IRSD quintile and decile data will be produced using the Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2016 geographical unit of Statistical Area Level 2.

The scope of the NESWTDC is patients on, or removed from, waiting lists for elective surgery which are managed by public acute hospitals.

Representational attributes

N[NNN]

Indicator conceptual framework

Data source attributes

Accountability attributes

Australian Health Performance Framework

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

AIHW 2015. Australian hospital peer groups. Health services series no. 66. Cat. no. HSE 170. Canberra: AIHW.

Relational attributes