Katherine Hospital tops average wait time across Territory

IN an emergency, every second counts. NT Health have released how long the average wait is at every hospital in the Territory … SEE HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO WAIT

WAITING times in the Territory’s emergency rooms remain higher than the national average, new figures reveal.

Palmerston Regional Hospital topped the NT in terms of wait time, with the average wait for a patient to be seen by a clinician standing at 43 minutes.

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The Northern Territory's largest hospital, Royal Darwin, had the second longest wait time with patients forced to wait nearly 40 minutes to be seen by a clinician.

Royal Darwin Hospital main entry. Picture Che Chorley

That compares to an average wait time of 19 minutes across Australia, according to a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2019.

Tennant Creek Hospital’s emergency department was the fastest with an average wait of 26 minutes.

An NT Health spokeswoman said all patients presenting at either the Top End Health Service and Central Australia Health Service were triaged upon arrival at an emergency department, with patients then forced to wait to see a clinician.

“Both health services continue to look at ways to improve the timeliness of services offered to patients by managing patient and bed flow,” she said.

Australian Medical Association NT president Robert Parker said despite the low figures, some patients with less serious issues could still be waiting hours for treatment.

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“43 minutes is reasonable,” Dr Parker said.

“People who come in with chest pains get way more priority than people who come in with a sore ear, for example,” he said.