► Delays in receiving care are of particular relevance to time-critical pathologies, for which quality of care and timely access are fundamentally interlinked.► Characterising and improving delays in a health system are complex, and require both quantitative and qualitative understanding.► There is mutual benefit to collaboration across clinical, academic and geographical areas of interest in order to understand and reduce delays in accessing care.

Patients with delayed access to medical care often experience worse outcomes. The ‘three delays’ model developed in the context of emergency obstetric care is an important conceptual device for researchers and policy-makers, particularly in resource-poor health systems. 1 This model characterises delay in terms of (1) the decision to seek care;(2) arrival at a health facility and (3) the provision of adequate care. However,‘access’ is a nuanced term, one that is not simply an issue of geographical resource distribution or population density. A patient may seek care, but be constrained by competing demands or health beliefs. Once sought, the care delivered may be inappropriate. Even after arrival at a healthcare facility that is able to deliver the necessary care, there may still be a clinically significant delay in obtaining it. 2