Location in SystemView: SystemView > Explore > Surgery > Waiting List > End of Month > End of Current Month / End of Next Month
In this article:
- What it is
- Why it matters
- How to use it
- How it works
- How it helps you
- Best practices
- FAQs / Troubleshooting
What it is
The End of Month components help you see how many patients are at risk of breaching their elective surgery wait time targets, by showing your projected long wait position at the end of a reporting month.
There are two components:
- End of Current Month: shows your projected position at the end of this month.
- End of Next Month: shows your projected position at the end of the next calendar month.
Both work the same way but focus on different census dates.
Why it matters
Anticipate long waits and act early.
These components let you:
- See your projected breaches: View booked and unbooked patients who may exceed target treatment dates.
- Plan ahead: Identify patients at risk of becoming long wait and schedule them before census to protect your long-wait position.
- Support team meetings: Give teams a live view of upcoming long waits to guide booking and scheduling.
- Give executives confidence: Share a clear worst-case scenario if no further booking changes occur.
How to use it
Filter to focus your view
Use the filters to refine results. Key filters include:
- Procedure Type: Surgical, Non-Surgical, Endoscopy
- Surgical = procedures reportable to the Department of Health
- Non-Surgical = procedures not reportable to the Department of Health
- Endoscopy = reported separately but available for monitoring
- Specialty: narrow the view to a specific surgical specialty.
- Outsourcing view: include or exclude patients flagged for outsourcing to see the true reportable position.
- NRFS at census: control whether patients not ready for surgery are included in the metrics. Select “Ready for Surgery” to show only those expected to be ready by the census date.
Explore key waiting list metrics
Each End of Month component includes tiles, charts, and exportable tables.
| Tile name | What it shows |
| Current Metrics | Today’s count of long wait patients, split into booked and unbooked. Includes patients currently not ready who will become ready before census. |
| Changes Between Now & Census | How the long wait position is expected to change if no new bookings are made: total changes, new unbooked long waits, removals, and new booked long waits. |
| At Census (Assuming No Further Bookings) | Your projected long wait position at census, split into unbooked, booked, and at-risk (patients likely to breach if no action is taken). |
| Risks | Unbooked patients who won’t count at census but will become long wait the day after. The button next to the Risks title opens charts by specialty and doctor, plus an exportable patient list. |
| Unbooked Patients Projected Long Wait at Census | Number of unbooked patients projected to be long wait at census, broken down into “currently long wait” and “long wait at census.” |
| Unbooked Patients Projected Long Wait at Census by Specialty | Same as above, broken down by specialty. |
| Unbooked Patients Projected Long Wait at Census by Doctor | Same as above, broken down by doctor |
| Booked Patients Projected Long Wait at Census | Number of booked patients projected to still be long wait at census (includes booked breach long waits and booked long waits at census). |
| Booked Patients Projected Long Wait at Census by Specialty | Same as above, broken down by specialty. |
| Booked Patients Projected Long Wait at Census by Doctor | Same as above, broken down by doctor |
| Long Wait Projection at Census (button) | Opens exportable lists of unbooked and booked patients projected to be long wait at census. |
💡 Tip: If you click on a doctor in either of the doctor charts, you’ll open an exportable patient-level table showing exactly which patients are projected to be long wait for that doctor.
How it works
- Data refreshes daily in the morning.
- The component assumes all current bookings proceed as planned and no new bookings are made.
- The summary tables show a worst-case scenario of breaches at the upcoming census date.
Calculation logic
Booked vs. unbooked groups are defined by days to target treatment date.
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Unbooked long wait: patients already a long wait with no booking.
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Unbooked risk/long wait (at census): currently unbooked patients who will become long wait by census.
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Booked breach, long wait (at census): patients with a booking who will still be long wait at census.
How it helps you
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Plan bookings proactively: Identify patients likely to become long wait and schedule them before census.
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Reduce breaches: Reschedule patients booked to breach and improve your end of month position.
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Guide team planning: Use the specialty and doctor breakdowns to focus resources.
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Support leadership reporting: Give leaders confidence in a validated worst-case scenario.
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Drill to patient detail: Move from summary charts to exportable patient-level tables.
Best practices
How often should I use it
| What to do | How often | Who should do it | Why it helps |
| Review End of Current Month | Daily | Booking/Scheduling Officers, Coordinators | Keeps today’s long wait risks visible and supports planning. |
| Review End of Next Month | Weekly | Clinical Directors, Managers, Project Officers | Anticipates future risks before they become urgent. |
| Export and save patient lists | As needed | Booking Officers, Coordinators, Admin | Tracks which patients are driving the long wait position. |
Pair with these components
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Waiting List > Patient List: action bookings or rescheduling once risks are identified.
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Waiting List > Trends: track historical patterns of long waits alongside upcoming census pressure.
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End of Current Month vs End of Next Month: use together to balance immediate action with forward planning.
Tips for success
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Tip: Set NRFS at census to “Ready for Surgery” to see the true reportable position.
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Use the Outsourcing view to exclude outsourced patients.
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Drill down by specialty and doctor to identify where long wait patients are concentrated.
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Expect daily changes and use this as a dynamic planning tool - the data refreshes daily to reflect the most current booking position
❓FAQs / Troubleshooting
Q. How many long waits will I have at the end of the month?
Open the End of Month component and check the Long Wait at Census summary table. This shows your projected long wait position if no booking changes occur.
Q. Why do my numbers change each day?
Because bookings, cancellations, and readiness status are updated daily. The component always shows the latest worst-case scenario.
Q. What’s the difference between End of Current Month and End of Next Month?
Both work the same way. Current Month shows the position at the end of this month; Next Month shows the position at the end of the following month. Use them together for short-term and forward planning.