Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital is grappling with a staggering outpatient crisis, with exclusive new data revealing waitlists have ballooned to more than 51,500 people across 15 specialist clinics. This represents a shocking 71 per cent increase from just 30,100 patients waiting four years ago.
A System in Crisis: Decade-Long Waits for Care
The figures, obtained by the Newcastle Herald under Government Information Public Access (GIPA) laws, paint a dire picture of a public health system under immense strain. The data for January 2025 shows the longest waits to see a specialist at John Hunter can stretch up to a decade for ear, nose, and throat services, and eight years for rheumatology, gastroenterology, colorectal, and orthopaedic clinics.
When looking at median wait times—the middle point where half wait more and half wait less—the situation remains severe. Patients face median waits of 2.8 years for rheumatology, 2.2 years for ENT, and 1.9 years for immunology.
The sheer scale of the backlog is broken down by specialty:
- Ear, nose and throat: 10,486 people
- Orthopaedics: 8,106 people
- Gastroenterology: 7,872 people
- Neurosurgery: 4,384 people
- Dermatology: 2,870 people
- Urology: 2,771 people
- Neurology: 2,207 people
Personal Toll: "I Don't Know If There's Something Deadly Within Me"
The statistics translate into profound anxiety and deteriorating health for individuals. Sarah Stokes of Salt Ash was referred by her GP to a John Hunter gynaecologist in September after experiencing bleeding and a thickened uterine lining, which required assessment to rule out cancer.
Despite being placed on a priority list with a 90-day target, Ms Stokes had to proactively call the clinic in late November. She was eventually given an appointment for early March—a six-month wait for a potentially life-threatening condition.
"I mistakenly thought I'd be wheeled in pretty quick," Ms Stokes said. "It's really worrying because I don't know if there's something deadly within me. I could be waiting months more if surgery is needed." The waitlist to see a gynaecologist at the hospital was 2,631 this year, with a median wait of almost four months.
Experts Demand Federal Intervention and Funding
The skyrocketing waitlists have triggered urgent calls from medical leaders for the federal government to step in and directly fund state hospital outpatient services. Doctors Reform Society president, rheumatologist Dr Tim Woodruff, labelled the long waitlists and times as "appalling."
"It is now time to act," Dr Woodruff said. "The outpatient funding is mainly from the state government, but they haven't got enough money to fund that. They've got to fund the hospitals adequately to be able to see their outpatients."
He proposed the federal government create urgent care clinics with specialists, mirroring the model used for general practitioners. This call aligns with a June recommendation from the Grattan Institute for federal and state governments to jointly invest about $500 million annually to expand public specialist clinics.
Professor Jennifer Martin, President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a University of Newcastle academic, warned that delayed outpatient care worsens patient health. "This can make treatment more complex and expensive, including hospital admission and delayed recovery times," Professor Martin said. "The earlier physicians see people, the better their outcomes can be."
Dr Max Mollenkopf, the Hunter representative for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, described John Hunter Hospital as "drowning." "I feel so sorry for them. The public outpatient system is completely overwhelmed," he said.
In response, John Hunter Hospital's executive general manager, Julie Tait, highlighted the service's massive scale, noting it treats patients from the Hunter to Northern NSW. "We see around 650 patients a day at the outpatient clinics," Ms Tait said, adding that the hospital receives about 1,500 referrals each week. "We're one of the largest outpatient services in the state. We try to maximise the frequency in which we can see patients."
The data on wait times is from October last year, while the waitlist numbers apply to January 2025, indicating the crisis is current and worsening. For thousands in the Hunter region, accessing timely public specialist healthcare has become a waiting game measured in years, not months.
