National Partnership Agreement on Improving Public Hospital Services: National Elective Surgery Target (Part 1)

Elective surgery is as defined in the Elective surgery waiting times (removals and census) NMDSs.

Waiting time is as defined in Waiting time at removal from elective surgery waiting list. Calculated by jurisdictions by subtracting the listing date for care from the removal date, minus any days when the patient was 'not ready for care', and also minus any days the patient was waiting with a less urgent clinical urgency category than their clinical urgency category at removal.

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

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

For the purposes of Part 1 indicator reporting, patients are reported as the final urgency category they were when treated. When a patient’s urgency category changes, existing NMDS business rules will apply.

Analysis by state and territory is based on location of service.