Median waiting time to treatment performance indicators

What do the colours mean in relation to the performance indicator for median wait time?

The median waiting time for treatment at each hospital is compared against the most recent national median waiting time to determine whether performance is good, moderate or poor. The national median waiting time is published annually by the Australian Government, usually around November of each year.

This median is calculated by arranging each patient's waiting time in order and then selecting the waiting time that is in the middle. For example, if the median waiting time for category 1 elective surgery patients is 14 days, this means that half of the patients were treated in 14 days or less, and the other half of patients were treated after 14 days.

Please note that the period referred to in the elective surgery highlights box will differ for the 'operations' and the 'median wait (days)', for example, although operations may refer to April 2011, median wait (days) may refer to the March quarter 2011. The median wait for elective surgery refers to the quarter listed in the elective surgery performance page.

It should also be noted that there may be some seasonal variation in waiting time performance, particularly in emergency departments. For example, emergency departments become busier during the winter months when many people seek treatment for flu symptoms. This should be considered when comparing national annual performance against Queensland monthly or quarterly performance.

A visual example of this performance breakdown is shown below.

• Hospitals A to J will show green because their performance is better than or within range of the latest national performance.
• Hospitals K to N will show amber because their performance is not within range of the latest national performance but not in the poorest performing group.
• Hospitals O to Q will show red because they are in the poorest performing group.
• Hospital R will show white because a value was not calculated.