The average waiting time for elective surgery is continuing to hover at around 36 days, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

AIHW’s 2011-12: elective surgery waiting times report found that 50 per cent or more of patients waited 36 days, up from the average of 34 recorded in 2008.

The report found that Australian hospitals admitted around 662,000 patients for elective surgery waiting lists over the 2011-12 period. Almost one in four of these patients were admitted for General surgery (surgery on organs of the abdomen) and about one in seven was admitted for Orthopaedic surgery (surgery on bones, joints, ligaments and tendons, including knee and hip replacements).

Median waiting times for elective surgery ranged from 27 days in Queensland to 63 days in the Australian Capital Territory in 2011-12.

The surgical specialities with the longest median waiting times in 2011-12 were Ophthalmology, Ear, nose and throat surgeryand Orthopaedic surgery (74, 66 and 63 days respectively). Cardiothoracic surgery had the shortest median waiting time (16 days).

Total knee replacement was the procedure with the longest median waiting time (184 days) while Coronary artery bypass grafthad the shortest median waiting time (16 days).

“Over the five years from 2007-08 to 2011-12, the number of admissions from elective surgery waiting lists nationally rose by an average of 3.8% per year-but this was partly driven by an increase in the number of small hospitals reporting waiting times data,” said AIHW spokesperson Alison Verhoeven.

“However, the longest waits have dropped-since 2007-08 the proportion of patients who waited more than a year to be admitted for surgery fell from 3.0% to 2.7%,” Ms Verhoeven said.