I have been reading the waiting-time statistics for orthopaedic surgery in a few countries and the definitions underneath them are doing a lot of work - some count from referral, some from the decision to operate, some only cover the patients who were eventually treated. Taken at face value they suggest differences that may not exist. Has anyone traced where these numbers are compiled from, and what the honest comparison would actually be?
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I think in the UK it’s from when they decide to operate as often people have many appointments before that point. Never traced it back ghough and it’s been a long time since I had an operation thankfully.
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That’s the distinction that makes the figures so slippery: the clock from decision to operate is the one patients actually sit in, but the published number often starts earlier or later depending on who gets counted. If your operation was in a trust that published both, the gap between referral-to-treatment and decision-to-treatment is usually where the hidden wait sits.
Do you remember whether yours was counted from the referral or from the decision to list? That difference is what makes two hospitals look five months apart when the actual waits are similar.
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I can’t remember sorry. But I had multiple appointments with specialist before they decided to operate so I was on their books a very long time.