Table 2.

Descriptive statistics, non-elective patient categories

Population	Variable	Period 1	Period 2	Change, %	Diff. (P2-P1)
U1	Number of patients (n)	2276	1448	−36*
	Case time (hours)	4235	2726	−36*
	Number of days with surgery	314	308
	Percentage of patients treated within MAWT (%)	63	76
	Median waiting time (hours)	3.2	1.7		−1.5*
U2	Number of patients (n)	609	1171	92*
	Case time (hours)	1106	2171	96*
	Number of days with surgery	249	296
	Percentage of patients treated within MAWT (%)	97	93
	Median waiting time (hours)	4	5		1*
U3	Number of patients (n)	778	1480	90*
	Case time (hours)	1758	3612	105*
	Number of days with surgery	261	308
	Percentage of patients treated within MAWT (%)	70	89
	Median waiting time (hours)	35	23		−12*

Note. *p<0.05. Diff. = Difference (period 2 - period 1); MAWT = maximum acceptable waiting time; Changes in waiting time between the two periods are compared using the Mann–Whitney U-test. It should be noted that waiting times analysis use disaggregate (patient level) data, while case times analysis use data aggregate per day (i.e.one observation corresponds to one day).Medians are reported because the distributions are skewed by cases with excessive waiting, resulting in mean waiting time being profoundly affected.