Panorama

According to a report released today by Statistics Canada, wait times in Quebec for non-emergency medical services have been reduced by half during the survey period January to June 2005, since 2003.

From the Report Access to health care services:

January to June 2005

Waiting times remain the number one barrier for Canadians who had difficulties in accessing specialized health care services in 2005, according to preliminary results from the report Access to Health Care Services in Canada.

The data also show that between 2003 and 2005, median waiting times for all specialized services under study remained relatively stable at between three and four weeks. (The median is the point where exactly one half of waiting times are higher and one half lower.) Most individuals reported they received care within three months, which was also relatively unchanged.

The median waiting time was about four weeks for visits to specialists, four weeks for non-emergency surgery and three weeks for diagnostic tests.

However, there were some differences noted at the provincial level for selected specialized services. Median waiting times for non-emergency surgery were reduced by half in Quebec from almost nine weeks in 2003 to four weeks in 2005.

For diagnostic tests, median waiting times in New Brunswick rose from two weeks in 2003 to four weeks in 2005.

Similarly, patients’ views about waiting for care remained fairly stable during the two-year period.

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I wonder if the Supreme Court of Canada case between George Zeliotis and the Governments of Quebec and Canada started adding some grease to the wheels of our public health-care system?