Canadians referred to a specialist by their physician are waiting longer for treatment, a new report finds.
The Fraser Institute’s annual report on health care measures the time between physician referral and the beginning of treatment.
The median wait time in 2013 is 18.2 weeks, three days longer than last year, says the report, entitled “Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada.”
Manitoba had the third-longest median wait time among the 10 provinces at 25.9 weeks. Saskatchewan was slightly shorter at 25.7 weeks.
PEI had the longest median wait, 40.1 weeks. New Brunswick had the second-longest wait with 31.9 weeks.
Patients in Ontario waited 13.7 weeks, the shortest median wait in Canada.
The Canadian median wait of 18.2 weeks is 95 per cent longer than it was in 1993, states the report.
The report concludes that wait times for elective medical treatments across the provinces is “at a very high level historically.”
“Canada is effectively reneging on its promise of universal health care for those citizens forced to endure these long waits,” Bacchus Barua, lead author of the report, said in a statement.
The findings on Manitoba had the opposition Progressive Conservatives placing the blame on the NDP government.
“For families who are waiting for answers because of a suspicion about an illness or disease, it’s distressing and intolerable,” said health critic Cameron Friesen.
The opposition says wait times for treatments like surgeries have more than doubled since the NDP took office in 1999.
