[Waiting list situation at a regional hospital]

In Norway, waiting lists generated by the national VENTSYS system are used for hospital management and resource allocation.

Data were obtained from monthly reports from VENTSYS and the hospital's annual reports. General development in waiting parameters was analysed for the period 1997-2002. The number of patients waiting in January 2002 was compared to the total number of treated patients in 2001 (capacity).

Waiting list numbers were stable. The number of patients on the lists corresponded to only 8% of patients treated. There was no correlation between capacity and number of patients on waiting lists for more than twelve months, or between capacity and average length of time on a list. Only a few departments had waiting lists corresponding to more than a few months' throughput.

Long waiting lists and waiting time are better explained by poor patient logistics and booking systems than by lack of resources.