Ontario has shortest surgical wait times: Report

Ontario fared better than any other province for surgical wait times, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute.

Median wait times for Ontarians seeking medically necessary surgery or other therapeutic treatment stood at 14.1 weeks, while New Brunswick had the longest wait times, at 37.3 weeks.

Wait times across Canada were the same as 2013, at 18.2 weeks.

“Despite high levels of health care spending, Canadians continue to endure unacceptably long wait times for treatment,” said Bacchus Barua, senior economist at the Fraser Institute's Centre for Health Policy Studies and lead author of the study, called "Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2014 Report".

The study examines the total wait time patients faced from referral by a general practitioner, to consultation with a specialist, and subsequent receipt of treatment.

In 2014, for example, patients can expect to wait 42.2 weeks (from referral to treatment) for orthopedic surgery, up from 39.6 weeks in 2013 and 19.5 weeks in 1993.

Across all provinces, and 12 treatment categories measured – which include general surgery, cardiovascular surgery and gynaecology – Canadian patients generally wait more than three weeks longer between an appointment with a specialist and treatment than what physicians consider “clinically reasonable.”

The study also estimates the number of medical procedures Canadians are waiting for has increased to an estimated 937,345 in 2014, up from 928,120 in 2013.

“The protracted wait times for medically necessary treatment in Canada are not simply minor inconveniences. They can result in pain and suffering for patients, contribute to lost productivity at work, decreased quality of life, and, in the worst cases, disability and death,” Barua said in a press release.

“If Canada wants to provide more timely access to quality health care, it should consider adopting some of the policies used by other countries with universal health-care systems, such as Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia. Simply putting someone on a list is not the same as providing necessary medical care in a timely manner.”