A new report from the Fraser Institute shows that most Canadians waited longer to see a specialist and receive treatment in 2023.
According to the conservative-leaning think tank, the waiting time for a referral from a GP to specialist treatment increased from 27. 4 weeks in 2022 to 27. 7 weeks in 2023.
Each year, the Fraser Institute interviews doctors from 12 specialties, radiation oncology, general surgery and internal medicine.
Seven of the 10 provinces in which doctors were surveyed experienced an increase in wait times to see a specialist, according to the report released in early December. Three provinces experienced shorter wait times than in 2022.
The data was collected from January to June and the institute received 1,269 responses.
“This year’s reaction rate (10. 3 percent) is lower than in previous years and should therefore be interpreted with caution,” the report said.
This comes as physical care organizations, nurses’ unions, and doctors across the country are sounding the alarm about emerging wait times in areas such as emergency departments.
Other reports about long procedure wait times also forced one Canadian mother to leave the country in search of surgery to treat her Stage 4 cancer.
Wait times for surgeries and procedures vary across Canada, as the province and territory are guilty of offering care to their residents.
The Frazer Institute report focuses on the time it takes to be referred to a specialist through a GP and then between specialist and treatment.
The maritime provinces had the longest wait times between seeing a doctor and receiving treatment, bringing the overall average wait time for a patient to more than 50 weeks. Nova Scotians have the longest wait times in the country, with an average wait time of 56. 7 weeks. to receive treatment, according to the report.
Average wait times by province to receive care in Canada (Fraser Institute)
Prince Edward Island with an average wait of 55. 2 weeks and New Brunswick with a wait of 52. 6 weeks for treatment.
The report states that the overall wait time is longer due to the longer referral time between a doctor and a specialist.
“Wait times in this case increased from 12. 6 weeks in 2022 to 14. 8 weeks in 2023,” according to the report.
This comes as approximately 6. 5 million Canadians lack access to primary care and the country expects to have a shortage of 30,000 family doctors through 2028.
Alberta’s wait time is a median of 33.5 weeks from general practitioner to treatment, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador at 33.3 weeks.
Doctors at an Edmonton hospital have expressed concern that patients from all camps “suffer” long waits in hospitals.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba had average wait times for specialists of 31 and 29. 1 weeks, respectively, while British Columbia and Quebec had average wait times of 27. 7 and 27. 6 weeks each, according to the report.
Ontario, according to the Fraser Institute report, had an average wait of 21. 6 weeks, the shortest of any province.
According to the Canadian Centre for Alternative Policies, a left-leaning think tank, wait times for physical care in Ontario will increase if the province’s plan to allow more for-profit clinics to perform procedures comes to fruition.
The wait time to see a radiation oncology specialist is the shortest in the country at 4. 4 weeks, followed by an oncology specialist at 4. 8 weeks.
Cardiovascular surgery had a median wait of 13. 1 weeks before treatment, followed by surgeries with a median of 21. 7 weeks.
The longest wait time from general practitioner to treatment in Canada is for plastic surgery with a median wait of 52.4 weeks.
Total wait times from generation of professionals to treatment in 2023 for each specialty (Fraser Institute).
Orthopaedic surgery and neurosurgery also had high wait times with Canadians waiting a median of 44.3 weeks and 43.5 weeks respectively.
Wait times for running in gynecology were 37. 4 weeks in 2023, according to the report.
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