Surgery Waits

Cataract surgery waiting time at Katherine Hospital

The median wait for cataract surgery — published by the source as "Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion)" — at this public hospital in the Katherine area of Northern Territory was 86 days in 2024–25.

Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released

These figures describe surgery that already happened, not your own wait.

Median wait
86 days2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
Surgeries completed
112 surgeries2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
Waited more than 365 days
1.8%2024–25 · released 28 May 2026

Half the people who had this surgery here waited less than the median, and half waited longer. Of the 132 public hospitals that published a median wait for this surgery in 2024–25, this one sits at 47 when they are ordered from shortest median to longest. Hospitals with the same median share a rank.

The median wait here has fallen from 180 days in 2011–12 to 86 days in 2024–25 — down 52% — while the national median rose from 89 days to 106 days. The nearest public hospital with a shorter published wait is Derby Hospital, about 977 km away, at 82 days. Here, 1.8% of people waited more than 365 days for this surgery; nationally it was 11.5%.

Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion)" and type your suburb to see the public hospitals within reach, ordered by their published wait. Nothing you type there is kept.

How this compares

Median wait, long waits and volume for Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion), 2024–25.
Where Median wait Waited more than 365 days Surgeries
Katherine Hospital86 days1.8%112 surgeries
Northern Territory (all public hospitals)162 days20.4%921 surgeries
Western Australia (all public hospitals)82 days5.1%12672 surgeries
Australia (all public hospitals)106 days11.5%87841 surgeries

Where the wait is shorter nearby

Bars show the median wait in days. The vertical line at 106 days marks the national median.

Distances are straight-line, measured between hospital locations, and are approximate. The search covered 1000 km — the radius was widened because fewer than four hospitals published a figure within 250 km.

Some of these hospitals are in another state — a public hospital referral can cross the border, so ask your GP what that would mean for you.

How the wait has changed

Median wait for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion) by financial year at Katherine Hospital, compared with Northern Territory and Australiadays01002003004002011–122014–152017–182020–212023–242024–25Katherine Hospital 86NT 162Australia 106
  • Katherine Hospital
  • NT
  • Australia
View these numbers as a table
Median wait in days for Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion), by financial year. Every figure was released on 2026-05-28.
Reference periodKatherine Hospital (days)NT (days)Australia (days)
2011–1218016889
2012–1314315689
2013–1417611679
2014–1517714383
2015–1623815893
2016–1731111785
2017–181417187
2018–19928284
2019–20299698
2020–2122118172
2021–22298200158
2022–23not published306133
2023–24140217119
2024–2586162106

Public hospitals only — what these figures include and leave out.

All surgery at Katherine Hospital · Cataract surgery across Australia · Cataract surgery in Northern Territory