Surgical wait times on the rise
Posted Dec 12, 2011 2:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Fraser Institute reports Canadians are waiting longer today for surgery than they did in 1993.
The right wing think tank reports that on average Canadians are waiting 19 weeks from referral to treatment.
People in Ontario have the shortest wait at just over 14 weeks. Albertans are waiting about 21 weeks, the fourth best length of wait time in the country.
David Eggen with Friends of Medicare tells 660News he’s not surprised by the findings and suggests things will likely get worse before they get better.
Eggen predicts health care will be a big issue in next year’s provincial election because the governing Tories only care about two things – money and votes.
He also says when it comes to surgical wait times, the federal government needs to accept some of the blame because transfer payments between Ottawa and the provinces have been on the decline.
