Elective surgery patients are waiting up to several years on hidden waiting lists to see specialists in hospital outpatient clinics, the Australian Medical Association says.
Elective surgery patients can be referred to see a specialist in a public hospital outpatient clinic, or in a private clinic where they generally have to pay out-of-pocket ahead of joining elective surgery wait lists.
There is no reliable national data on how long it takes patients to see a specialist in an outpatient clinic but it can be years, AMA president Professor Steve Robson said.
