Canberra's specialist waitlist swells to 65,000
About 65,000 Canberrans are on a public specialist waitlist. That is over 10 per cent of the population.
A five-year-old girl waits more than three years to see a specialist about extreme fatigue. A man has already waited more than four years and faces another two and a half.
The girl and the man show what thousands face, sitting on an invisible waitlist before they even know if they need surgery. Canberra Health Services shared the 65,000-person figure publicly for the first time this week.
More than one in ten residents are waiting. The service is reviewing specialist pathways and will contact patients in the next couple of months.
They will check if patients still need appointments. A health official said the wait is not acceptable.
The fix will take weeks, months, or up to 12 months.
- 65,000
- People waiting
- over 10 per cent
- Share of population
- over three years
- Girl's wait time
- four years
- Man's wait time so far
Why it mattersLong waits force families to pay for private healthcare. This creates a two-tier system where only those with money get timely care.
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