Surgery Waits

Cataract surgery waiting time at Princess Alexandra 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 Dutton Park area of Queensland was 103 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
103 days2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
Surgeries completed
867 surgeries2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
Waited more than 365 days
3.0%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 62 when they are ordered from shortest median to longest. Hospitals with the same median share a rank.

The median wait here has risen from 37 days in 2011–12 to 103 days in 2024–25 — up 178% — while the national median rose from 89 days to 106 days. The nearest public hospital with a shorter published wait is Mater Adult Hospital, about 2 km away, at 88 days. Here, 3.0% 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
Princess Alexandra Hospital103 days3.0%867 surgeries
Queensland (all public hospitals)82 days1.9%8868 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 250 km.

How the wait has changed

Median wait for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion) by financial year at Princess Alexandra Hospital, compared with Queensland and Australiadays0631251882502011–122014–152017–182020–212023–242024–25Princess Alexandra Hospital 103QLD 82Australia 106
  • Princess Alexandra Hospital
  • QLD
  • 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 periodPrincess Alexandra Hospital (days)QLD (days)Australia (days)
2011–12375189
2012–13214489
2013–14285279
2014–15435783
2015–16496493
2016–17387085
2017–18658787
2018–19507284
2019–20568398
2020–215684172
2021–223484158
2022–238177133
2023–2420276119
2024–2510382106

Queensland's quarterly figures for ophthalmology

These are not figures for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion). Queensland reports by surgical specialty, not by procedure. A specialty covers many different operations, so a specialty figure is never a figure for any one of them.

Queensland Health publishes its own figures every three months. They count differently from the national figures above and are never combined with them. This quarter ends after the national reporting period, so it is the more recent of the two.

Covers July to September 2025, published by Queensland Health on 28 October 2025. Reported as Princess Alexandra.

Patients treated
402 patientsJuly to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025
Treated within the recommended time
84.3%July to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025
Still waiting at the end of the quarter
547 patientsJuly to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025
Waiting longer than recommended
36 patientsJuly to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025

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

All surgery at Princess Alexandra Hospital · Cataract surgery across Australia · Cataract surgery in Queensland