Dissatisfaction with surgery delays highest in B.C.: poll

One in three British Columbians who had orthopedic surgery within the last 10 years say they waited an “unreasonable” amount of time for the surgery — the highest level of dissatisfaction in the country, according to a new Angus Reid Institute poll.

About 22 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they waited too long for their procedures, a figure that translates to more than 300,000 patients based on the number of knee and hip surgeries conducted in Canada over the past decade.

In B.C., where orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Day is challenging the B.C. government over patients’ right to pay for private care, that figure rises to 34 per cent. However, unhappiness with waiting times does not appear to translate to support for private surgery clinics, said the study.

“You can hear a lot of rhetoric about what Canadians or British Columbians want or don’t want, but we talk to people on the front lines to take the temperature of where they’re at in terms of waiting times and how they view these big policy questions,” said Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute.

As the incoming NDP government starts to weigh its to-do lists, the survey findings could offer some insight on how the health ministry should determine its priorities, she said.

In B.C., the higher level of dissatisfaction correlates with longer waiting times in the province, where only 61 per cent of hip replacements and 47 per cent of knee replacements were completed within the Canadian Institute of Health Information’s benchmark time compared to the national averages of 79 per cent and 73 per cent respectively.

But the findings are not consistent across the country. This suggests people’s perceptions of how long they waited could be influenced by factors, said Kurl. “It could be a matter of managing expectations or finding ways for people who may be immobile or experiencing pain to be more comfortable.”

Among respondents who report unreasonable waiting times, 64 per cent said they would still stick with the public care system if they needed future orthopedic surgery.

The online survey was conducted May 29 to June 5 among a randomized sample of 1,512 Canadians who had orthopedic surgery in the last decade. The study carries a margin of error of +/- 2.5 per centre points, 19 times out of 20.