MEDICAL WAIT TIME LONGEST ON RECORD
27.4-week median tripled in three decades
OTTAWA • Canadians are waiting longer than ever to see a doctor, says the latest annual study on medical wait times from the Fraser Institute.
The think-tank reports a median wait time of 27.4 weeks for Canadians to get treatment, longer than the 25.6 weeks reported in 2021 and significantly longer than 9.3 weeks the institute recorded in its first wait time survey in 1993.
The wait time includes the time period between when a patient is referred by their family doctor to a specialist, the consultation with that specialist and when they are ultimately given treatment or surgery.
This year's survey took in responses from 850 physicians across the country. The institute said COVID-19 backlogs were part of the problem, but contended this was just more evidence of a broken health-care system.
“Excessively long wait times remain a defining characteristic of Canada's health-care system,” said Mackenzie Moir, Fraser Institute policy analyst and co-author of the report.
“And they aren't simply minor inconveniences; they can result in increased suffering for patients, lost productivity at work, a decreased quality of life, and in the worst cases, disability or death.”
Physicians in the survey also reported to the institute that patients were waiting an average of six weeks longer than was clinically acceptable.
The survey broke down the wait times based on medical specialties as well, with the shortest wait there for radiation treatments to treat cancer, which took an average 3.9 weeks.
The longest wait time was for neurosurgery, which took 58.9 weeks, but there were also long waits for plastic surgery, which took 58.1 weeks and orthopedic surgery where patients waited on average 48.4 weeks.
The survey found waiting times to be treated were longest in Prince Edward Island at 64.7 weeks, and shortest in Ontario where they came in at 20.3 weeks. The survey was sent to physicians in the first part of the year. Since then hospitals across the country have come under increasing pressure due to outbreaks of influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus.
Health Minister Jean Yves Duclos said he knows health workers are under more stress than ever.
“Obviously, the additional load that COVID-19 has brought on them with lots of backlogs and surgeries and diagnostics. So yes, it's a very serious and severe situation now for workers and patients across Canada,” he said.
Provinces have been calling on the federal government to deliver a substantial increase, up to $28 billion, in the annual Canada Health Transfer to increase funding for hospitals, doctors and nurses in a bid to deal with staff shortages. The Liberals have indicated a willingness to increase transfers, but want the money to come with certain strings, including better data sharing and a strategy for expanding the health care workforce.
Duclos met with provincial health ministers last month, but the talks fell apart, ending in acrimony.
He said Thursday that while those talks didn't produce
I'M ENGAGED WITH THEM ALMOST EVERY WEEK AND MY OFFICIALS TALK ALMOST EVERY DAY.
a result, he is still talking to his provincial counterparts regularly about ways to improve the system.
“I'm engaged with them almost every week and my officials talk almost every day,” he said.
Duclos pointed to recent announcements pledging to allow more foreign-trained workers to get accredited in Canada and other steps the government has taken to improve the system.
He said the federal government has put a lot of money on the table as well, citing inflationary increases to the Canada Health Transfer, and money for targeted initiatives across the country.
He said money can't be the only solution to the problem.
“The increase in the Canada Health Transfer of five per cent a few months ago, with an additional 10 per cent in March 2023, long term care, home care, mental health care additional dollars for that too, but we need to agree now on results.”