Does Canada have long wait times for health care?

Waiting for treatment has become a defining characteristic of Canadian health care. Specialist physicians surveyed report a median waiting time of 22.6 weeks between referral from a general practitioner and receipt of treatment—longer than the wait of 20.9 weeks reported in 2019.

Why are wait times so long in Canada 2020?

The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected many things, but healthcare, understandably, has been one of the most impacted. Thousands of elective surgeries were postponed and as a result, wait times in Canada over the next few years are likely to increase even further as hospitals and doctors deal with their backlogs.

Does free healthcare work in Canada?

In particular, the Canadian healthcare system. People sometimes say that Canadians have “free” healthcare, but Canadians pay for their healthcare through taxes. In the US, patients are likely to pay for healthcare through premiums or copays. Healthcare is never free.

What is the average wait time for health care in Canada?

— Dec 4, 2018. Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2018 finds that the median wait time for medically necessary treatment in Canada this year was 19.8 weeks. Among the provinces, Saskatchewan has the shortest median wait time this year at 15.4 weeks, and New Brunswick again recorded the longest wait time (45.1 weeks).

Are waiting times for medically necessary treatment increasing or decreasing?

This edition of Waiting Your Turn indicates that, overall, waiting times for medically necessary treatment have increased since last year. Specialist physicians surveyed report a median waiting time of 20.9 weeks between referral from a general practitioner and receipt of treatment—longer than the wait of 19.8 weeks reported in 2018.

Which provinces have the worst hospital wait-times?

The deterioration in wait- times nationwide reflects increases in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island while concealing improvements in Ontario and Newfoundland & Labrador.

How many Canadians are waiting for treatment in 2018?

It is estimated that, across the 10 provinces, the total number of procedures for which people are waiting in 2018 is 1,082,541. This means that, assuming that each person waits for only one procedure, 2.9\% of Canadians are waiting for treatment in 2018.