A new report from the Montreal Economic Institute shows what every Canadian who has been to an emergency room knows in their bones: wait times are unacceptably long and getting worse.
Despite more and more government spending, Canadians’ stays in emergency rooms are getting longer and longer.
In Canada’s largest province of Ontario, for example, the MEI finds that the median wait time in an emergency room is a jaw-dropping four hours. And it takes an hour and a half just to see a doctor for an initial assessment.
Things are even worse in neighbouring Quebec, where patients spend an average of five hours and 23 minutes in the emergency room and wait a stunning hour and fifty-one minutes to see a doctor for an assessment.
Keep in mind, these numbers are just provincial averages. Wait times in the busiest hospitals are far longer that the median wait time across the province.
How do wait times compare to wait times just five short years ago?
In most provinces, they’re getting worse.
In Ontario, for example, the average emergency room stay has increased from three hours and six minutes in 2020 to four hours today. And the amount of time it takes to see a doctor increased from 54 minutes to an hour and a half.
That means emergency room stays are nearly 33 per cent longer than they were just five short years ago. And the amount of time it takes to see a doctor has increased by more than 50 per cent.
Government spending can’t be blamed. Back in 2020, the Ontario government spent $64.6 billion on healthcare. This year, it plans to spend $91.1 billion, a 41 per cent increase that far exceeds inflation plus population growth.
What is causing such long wait times?
In part, the MEI chalks it up to a lack of access to primary care, as well as a lack of options to help deal with minor emergencies.
The MEI sees what the organization calls a “missing middle” in primary care. Right now, hospitals will quickly treat major emergencies that could involve life and death. But patients with something like a bone fracture could be waiting all day for treatment.
In France, there is a new type of clinic that aims to improve access to emergency care. They are called Immediate Medical Care Centres. These centres are independent clinics that specialize in handling lower priority cases, cases in which patients could otherwise wait whole days in hospitals to receive treatment for.
These clinics are equipped to both provide care for patients but also have crucial tools to perform things like blood tests and on-site imaging.
The main benefit here is that some patients are diverted away from hospitals, which in turn can help reduce wait times and staff pressure there.
By bringing these types of clinics to Canada, pressure could be taken off our overwhelmed hospitals.
Bringing Immediate Care Clinics to Canada should be a no-brainer. At a time when our healthcare system is overwhelmed, it’s time to try new solutions to help solve old and worsening problems.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
