Clinical priority categories
Booked medical and surgical patients are categorised by clinical priority to ensure that they receive care in the most timely manner.
The waiting times data in this site refers to people who are ready-for-care and who have been classified as priority category 1, 2, 7 or 8. Data on patients who are classified as not-ready-for-care is not included in this site.
A patient's clinical priority is allocated by their doctor. The clinical priority categories are as follows:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Emergency | Admitted within 24 hours. |
| 1 and 2 | Admitted within 30 days. |
| 7 | Admitted within 90 days. |
| 8 | Patient is ready to be admitted but is neither category 1, 2 or 7. |
| Ready-for-care | The treating clinician classifies the patient as ready to be admitted, and the patient is prepared to accept admission when the procedure is offered. |
| Not-ready-for-care | Patient is not ready clinically for admission or wishes to defer for personal reasons. The patient is either staged or deferred.
The staged patient has a medical condition that prevents them from being admitted until a future date. For example, they may be unfit to undergo an anaesthetic or are awaiting a check cystoscopy. The deferred patient is unable to accept a date for admission for social or personal reasons. |