Cataract surgery waiting time at Mount Isa Base Hospital
Median wait, long waits and volumes for cataract surgery — published by the source as “Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion)” — at this public hospital in the Mornington area of Queensland, with the nearest alternatives that published a figure.
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026
- Median wait
- 193 days2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
- Surgeries completed
- 96 surgeries2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
- Waited more than 365 days
- 7.3%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 87 when they are ordered from shortest median to longest. Hospitals with the same median share a rank.
The median wait here has risen from 43 days in 2011–12 to 193 days in 2024–25 — up 349% — while the national median rose from 89 days to 106 days. The nearest public hospital with a shorter published wait is Longreach Hospital, about 576 km away, at 182 days. Here, 7.3% 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
| Where | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Isa Base Hospital | 193 days | 7.3% | 96 surgeries |
| Northern Territory (all public hospitals) | 162 days | 20.4% | 921 surgeries |
| Queensland (all public hospitals) | 82 days | 1.9% | 8868 surgeries |
| Australia (all public hospitals) | 106 days | 11.5% | 87841 surgeries |
Where the wait is shorter nearby
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
- Mount Isa Base Hospital
- QLD
- Australia
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Mount Isa Base Hospital (days) | QLD (days) | Australia (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 43 | 51 | 89 |
| 2012–13 | 82 | 44 | 89 |
| 2013–14 | 59 | 52 | 79 |
| 2014–15 | 81 | 57 | 83 |
| 2015–16 | 83 | 64 | 93 |
| 2016–17 | 162 | 70 | 85 |
| 2017–18 | 137 | 87 | 87 |
| 2018–19 | 58 | 72 | 84 |
| 2019–20 | 55 | 83 | 98 |
| 2020–21 | 34 | 84 | 172 |
| 2021–22 | 138 | 84 | 158 |
| 2022–23 | 148 | 77 | 133 |
| 2023–24 | 106 | 76 | 119 |
| 2024–25 | 193 | 82 | 106 |
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 Mount Isa.
- Patients treated
- 52 patientsJuly to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025
- Treated within the recommended time
- 76.9%July to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025
- Still waiting at the end of the quarter
- 175 patientsJuly to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025
- Waiting longer than recommended
- 8 patientsJuly to September 2025 · released 28 October 2025
Public hospitals only — what these figures include and leave out.
All surgery at Mount Isa Base Hospital · Cataract surgery across Australia · Cataract surgery in Queensland