minimum two hours here in Alice Springs, unless you show signs of chest pain in which case it is immediate (in my case, at least).

Went up to get my son seen for a burn, it was beneficial that I first aided him at home because we left a few hours later without being seen

Straight through. We did arrive by ambulance though. And I was told by the nurses we had just bet the rush. (WCH)

Severe croup in my daughter had me call an ambulance as she had difficulty in breathing. After arriving took about an hour to see a doctor.

Over 8 hours. Can be waiting for hours in a public Hospital in emergency. In a Private Hospital Service is 100 times better treatment is instant. It is costly. Sometimes people which attend the emergency dept they can see their local doctor.

I waited over 8 hours for an emergency operation....

Over 8 hour wait with imbedded stone next to shin... Freakish mowing accident

3-4 hours with our 10months old when she had temperature of 39

4 hours being ramped i.e. being looked after by the ambos until there was a doctor available. Painful, since there is a limit on the amount of strong pain relief (morphine) they can deliver and I had a kidney stone

Average here is about a 5 hour wait no matter what the condition. It is a little quicker if you call an ambulance.

I have never had a problem waiting to long. Especially with my children they see them straight away.

5 hours with appendicitis...I was made to wait on the chairs..but once I got in and was seen by a doc it was better-the nurses especially made my 4 day stay bearable

I don't mind waiting if their are sick children, elderly or pregnant women, but object when not being given any attention at all after triage. Perhaps an occasional reminder that you have not been forgotten would ease the wait time a little bit?

I have waited 4h to be seen at a major teaching hospital, but a lot less at a smaller hospital. I go there instead now.

A four hour maximum is still far better than the 8 some of you say you've had to wait for. We've personally never had to wait more than 3 hours, but then we don't tend to go up there unless we really need to. Triage is always quick, so you know you're being seen in order of urgency. I'm grateful we have a system where we can be seen. In some places in the world, people line up for hours to see a dr just because its the only way they can access a dose of panadol.

They need to provide other services 'after hours' for the community so that only serious emergencies end up at the hospital. Change is needed at 'system' level. I don't want to go to emergency departments but I have to because there is no where else to go!

I believe the reason there are so many people going to emergency department of hte hostpitla is that there are so few doctors that will bulk bill patients and if people have to pay anything to see a doctor they will be lucky to get 50% of the cost back. If the government increase the medicare rebate I believe that it will then become cheaper to see a doctor and the waiting time in public hosptial will be dramatically reduced.

depends a lot on urgency and how things are going. Ive been admitted almost immediately, and also waited for a very long time. They need more collaboration between the states and federal, as Gps available on site for non urgent cases would make a lot of sense, but how to work out who funds what is tricky. ALso more nurses would make a diff, as lots of stuff nurses can do, very few things are urgent.

being on an ambulance trolley in the street, in a queue of emergency trolleys, outside Launceston hospital.

working in ED you get delays caused by being inundated with people with minor problems. These get delayed when people with major injuries, cardiac or other serious problems arrive. Staffing levels are set by admin/rostering with little ability to increase staff when we get overloaded. While ever we keep blaming hospitals we miss the opportunity to discuss the real cause of delays which is funding for adequate staffing levels.

I was bitten by a snake earlier this year and was going into shock when I arrived at Nambour. They took me right through and treated me without so much as asking me my name. I couldn't praise them more highly. All staff in the ER and the rest of the hospital after I left the ER, were just brilliant - couldn't have been quicker or more attentive.

Yes, it's all about prioritising in emergency, every time I have had the misfortune to attend an emergency it has been this way and so it should be. Most individuals in pain would always think that they are hard done by when required to wait, and then there is the big picture!

I presented to Camden ER with the rarest condition known to man I was seen triaged and admitted to hospital in less than 2 hrs and they also contacted my specialist to arrange for me to go to a hospital that was able to treat my condition, brilliant....

13 hours wait before doctors could deal with a bones broken in 3 places and a dislocation.