Rockingham General Hospital completed just 42 per cent of its urgent elective surgeries within clinically recommended timeframes in 2024–25, according to figures highlighting wide differences in surgery waiting times across WA’s public hospitals.

The hospital recorded the lowest overall on-time rate among the 10 hospitals in the bottom-performing table, with just 56.3 per cent of its 2746 elective procedures completed within the recommended timeframe.

Fremantle Hospital and Health Service also recorded poor results, with 59.4 per cent of its 6394 elective procedures completed on time.

The figures come from an analysis by comparison service Compare the Market, based on Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.

At Rockingham, the median wait for urgent surgery was 40 days, exceeding the recommended 30-day timeframe.

The median wait was 89 days for semi-urgent procedures and 193 days for non-urgent operations.

At Fremantle, the median wait was 22 days for urgent surgery, 87 days for semi-urgent procedures and 266 days for non-urgent operations.

Just 52 per cent of Fremantle’s semi-urgent procedures were completed within the recommended timeframe, while 60 per cent of non-urgent operations were completed on time.

The results varied sharply across the State.

Kalgoorlie Health Campus recorded the highest overall on-time rate among the hospitals in the top-performing table, with 97.6 per cent of its 767 elective procedures completed within recommended timeframes.

Esperance Hospital followed at 96.7 per cent, ahead of Hedland Health Campus at 96.4 per cent.

Peel Health Campus recorded an overall on-time rate of 88.5 per cent. Its results included 93 per cent of urgent procedures and 86 per cent of semi-urgent procedures completed within the recommended timeframe.

Other major hospitals in the lower-performing table included Fiona Stanley Hospital, where 68.2 per cent of elective procedures were completed within recommended timeframes, and Perth Children’s Hospital, at 69.9 per cent.

The recommended timeframe depends on the clinical urgency assigned to each patient: 30 days for urgent surgery, 90 days for semi-urgent procedures and 365 days for non-urgent operations.

Across WA, about 80 per cent of elective surgery patients were treated within the recommended timeframe in 2024–25, compared with 80.7 per cent nationally.

The figures show differences in performance between hospitals, but do not establish the reasons for those differences. Demand, the types of procedures performed, staffing and operating theatre capacity can all influence waiting times.

Missing a recommended timeframe does not necessarily mean a patient waited a year for surgery. The target depends on the urgency category assigned to the procedure.

The analysis provides a snapshot of elective surgery performance in 2024–25; it does not, by itself, establish current waiting times or explain the causes of delays at individual hospitals.

Best-performing hospitals

1. Kalgoorlie Health Campus (767 elective surgeries/97.6% treated within recommended time)
2. Esperance Hospital (623 elective surgeries/96.7%)
3. Hedland Health Campus (518 elective surgeries/96.4%)
4. Joondalup Health Campus (Public) (6633 elective surgeries/96.2%)
5. Karratha Health Campus (507 elective surgeries/95.6%)
6. Armadale-Kelmscott Memorial Hospital (3197 elective surgeries/93.7%)
7. Geraldton Hospital (2967 elective surgeries/92.7%)
8. Busselton Health Campus (3632 elective surgeries/92.3%)
9. King Edward Memorial Hospital (2874 elective surgeries/92.2%)
10. Peel Health Campus (3237 elective surgeries/88.5%)

Lowest-performing hospitals

1. Rockingham General Hospital (2746 elective surgeries/56.3% treated within recommended time)
2. Fremantle Hospital and Health Service (6394 elective surgeries/59.4%)
3. Fiona Stanley Hospital (8295 elective surgeries/68.2%)
4. Perth Children’s Hospital (5824 elective surgeries/69.9%)
5. Osborne Park Hospital (4473 elective surgeries/73.5%)
6. Royal Perth Hospital Wellington Street Campus (9423 elective surgeries/74.4%)
7. Broome Hospital (711 elective surgeries/77.1%)
8. Albany Hospital (3485 elective surgeries/78.2%)
9. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (8785 elective surgeries/79.3%)
10. St John of God Midland Public Hospital (3999 elective surgeries/84.9%)

Data: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) MyHospitals 2024–25.