Canadians have to wait over 18 weeks for surgery (report)

The averaged wait time for Canadians seeking medically necessary surgery or other therapeutic treatment remains stagnant for the third consecutive year, at 18.3 weeks, up slightly from 18.2 weeks in 2014, according to a report.

In 1993, the wait time was just 9.3 weeks, says the report released by Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank, on Tuesday.

The report, an annual survey of physicians from across the country, examines the total wait time faced by patients across 12 medical specialties.

"These protracted wait times are not the result of insufficient spending but because of poor policy," says the report.

Among the specialties, the longest referral-to-treatment wait time exist for patients requiring orthopaedic surgery -- the treatment of ailments related to bones, joints, and muscles -- at 35.7 weeks.

These 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.

On a somewhat better note, patients face much shorter referral-to-treatment wait times, for radiation oncology 4.1 weeks and medical oncology 4.5 weeks.
 Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
9/12/15