16^th December 2024 – Canadian health care sector is facing unprecedented challenges and desperately needs life support to survive.

As per a recent report published by Fraser Institute, Canadian patients in 2024 waited longer than ever for medical treatment. Bacchus Barua, Director of Health Policy Studies at Fraser Institute said, “While most Canadians understand that wait times are a major problem, we’ve now reached an unprecedented and unfortunate milestone for a delayed access to care”.

The report further noted that there is a median wait time of 30 weeks from referral by your family doctor or general practitioner to consultation with a specialist for treatment.

A summary of the report was published which noted the below points.

• This is 222% longer than the 9.3 week wait Canadian patients could expect in 1993.
• Ontario reported the shortest total wait (23.6 weeks), followed by Quebec (28.9 weeks) and British Columbia (29.5 weeks).
• Patients waited longest in Prince Edward Island (77.4 weeks), New Brunswick (69.4 weeks) and Newfoundland and Labrador (43.2 weeks).
• Patients waited the longest for Orthopaedic Surgery (57.5 weeks) and Neurosurgery (46.2 weeks).
• By contrast, patients faced shorter waits for Radiation Oncology (4.5 weeks) and Medical Oncology (4.7 weeks).
• The national 30 week total wait is comprised of two segments. Referral by a GP to consultation with a specialist: 15.0 weeks. Consultation with a specialist to receipt of treatment: 15.0 weeks.
• Across 10 provinces, the study estimated that patients in Canada were waiting for 1.5 million procedures in 2024.
• Patients also suffered considerable delays for diagnostic technology: 8.1 weeks for CT scans, 16.2 weeks for MRI scans, and 5.2 weeks for Ultrasound.

These wait times are on the rise in the past few years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, and have been attributed to mass immigration, demoralized and over-worked hospital staff. As per a report by CTV News on 16^th April 2024, President of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Kathleen Ross said, “This is a problem that’s been decades in the making. Many many of these challenges existed long before the pandemic.”

Featured Image: Fraser Institute