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System-level indicators show that patients are experiencing delayed care
Figure XI. Median waiting time for stable new cases across different clusters in the Hospital Authority (2020)
Surgery 26 59
Psychiatry 14 57
Paediatrics 8 23
Orthopaedics & Traumatology 19 79
Medicine 28 90
Gynaecology 20 71
Ophthalmology 11 123
Otorhinolaryngology 26 83
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Range of median waiting times (weeks)
Source: Hospital Authority, 2021f
The waiting time for public healthcare services continues to increase across the board, from Accident and Emergency (A & E),
services to specialist out-patient clinics appointments and admission for inpatient hospital care, contributing to potential delay
in diagnosis and treatment. For example, the median waiting time for a first appointment in the specialty of ophthalmology for
stable new cases ranges from 11 weeks at minimum to 123 weeks at maximum (Hospital Authority, 2021f). While not all
specialties show such an extensive range of median waiting times, many specialties do have maximum waiting times of more
than 70 to 90 weeks.
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