More than 65,000 Canberrans are waiting to see a medical specialist

Canberra grandmother Billie Spencer says her five-year-old granddaughter will have to wait more than three years for a publicly funded specialist appointment, joining thousands on an invisible waitlist ahead of another inevitable waitlist.

Ms Spencer said her granddaughter suffers from excessive levels of fatigue, struggling to keep her eyes open at school and concentrate.

"She needs to be assessed by a specialist, and we've had to wait months," she said.

The family concluded they had no other choice but to choose private healthcare.

"I believe in quality healthcare access for everybody regardless of your financial status, and I feel it's so disgusting that this is where we're at," she said.

"[I can't] believe that children are having to wait, or parents, grandparents are having to pay huge amounts of money to have their health needs met.

"I just feel really frustrated and really sad that our public health system is in this situation. It's not ok."

Canberrans 'gobsmacked' by waitlists

Michael Hickey knows this story all too well.

He has already waited more than four years to see a specialist and was "gobsmacked" when he was told he would have to wait another two and a half years.

Mr Hickey has been living with a genetic hand condition which gradually leads to a loss of function if not treated.

He joined the public specialist waitlist expecting a fairly smooth process, but the reality did not align with his expectations.

"There's nothing but an acknowledgement to say, 'Thank you, we've received your note, your call is important to us, we'll get back to you,' and then crickets," he said.

Mr Hickey said he did not think the wait time would be so long.

"Why aren't the figures made known up front? Why isn't there a known waiting list so I can decide to go private if I wished to," he asked.

"I know it's expensive but I could've saved my pennies, paid cash, and had the operation and been done and dusted."

Mr Hickey said his injury was not debilitating, but he expressed frustration about it making hobbies and everyday activities "just that little more difficult".

'Big number' of people waiting for outpatient appointments

Mr Hickey and Ms Spencer's granddaughter are among about 65,000 people who are waiting for outpatient appointments across public hospitals in the ACT.

The figure, which Canberra Health Services (CHS) has disclosed publicly for the first time, means more than 10 per cent of Canberrans are currently waiting.

That is despite nearly 18,000 elective surgeries completed in Canberra last financial year, according to government data.

This week, CHS launched a review of specialist and outpatient services, following an independent inquiry into the territory's health system, which proposed 49 recommendations.

CHS said its review will examine outpatient services and referral pathways to better understand demand.

CHS chief operating officer Alison Derritt said demand for outpatient services had been growing with a "big number" of people waiting for appointments.

"We do know that this is a problem," she said.

"It is not an acceptable position for us to have people on a wait list for an extended period of time, and our clinicians take this very seriously, and I take this very seriously.

"It's going to be one of those things that is a constant challenge for us … this is not something that will be done in a couple of weeks.

"This will be something that will take us weeks, months, and possibly up to 12 months."

The health body said patients would be contacted in the next couple of months to assess their conditions and confirm whether they still required an appointment.

For people like Mr Hickey and Ms Spencer's granddaughter, the wait for the wait could not feel longer.