Surgery wait times in Nova Scotia third highest in country
Posted Nov 26, 2014 11:33:19 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
According to a health care report released today by the Fraser Institute, Nova Scotians are among the top three provinces in Canada with the longest surgery wait times.
Senior economist with the Fraser Institute, Bacchus Barua, said the average Nova Scotian waits 33 weeks from doctor referral to actual treatment.
That number’s gone up 184 per cent in the past 21 years, and nationally, it’s not getting any better.
“Wait times can have very serious consequences. Some people can afford to wait, that’s without question, but in other cases, people are not so lucky. They can result in pain, suffering, mental anguish. They can result in poorer medical outcomes, transforming a treatable condition to an irreversible disability.”
Wait times are up across the board, but Ontario has the shortest gap between referral and surgery, at just 14 weeks.
People in New Brunswick have to wait almost triple that, with an average wait time of 37 weeks.
