A new study out of the Fraser Institute says the wait times for health care in Canada is getting worse.
Research indicates the median waiting time is now sitting at 21.2 weeks, which is a 128% jump from when the survey first started back in 1993, when it was just 9.3 weeks.
BC was ranked 7th worst in Canada with an average wait time of 26.6 weeks, more than the national average.
Author of the study Bacchus Barua says wait times go up at least a week every year, we just haven’t realized the progression.
“Unfortunately I think a lot of politicians and policy members brush wait times off as just a benign inconvenience where as we forget that they can and do often have very real consequences. The reason for nothing really improving during this entire time is because nothing has really changed in terms of policies.”
Looking at how BC is sitting 7th out of 10, is important to note.
“British Columbia use to actually do a little bit better than the national average for several years, often amongst the top 3 when it came to wait times, which again is not saying much because in Canada in general wait times are so long that even if you’re its really not a great situation.”
Barua says one thing Canada can do is try and use the same policies of those in Scandinavian counties, who spend the same amount on health care, but have significantly lower wait times.
In Canada Ontario had the shortage wait time at 15.4 weeks, while New Brunswick ranked the worst with a wait time of 41.7 weeks.