How long are Canadians waiting for health care?

Health care wait times for Canadians have been on the rise for years — in every province, they're now waiting weeks longer than they did decades ago.

Global News explores just how long they're waiting now and the reasons why the numbers keep going up.

#GlobalNews #Healthcare #CanadaElection

[eugenerider]

90, 000 physicians for a population of 37, 000, 000??? Are you kidding me???

[Perkstoph]

I've been waiting 2 years for a specialist, and when a doctor called me he was an Indian and said he couldn't understand me and wouldn't talk with me.

[liberallarry]

This is VERY misleading. Are you talking about wait times for Emergency procedures? Elective procedures? Doctor's visits?

[scarysanta]

Before my father passed away from a brain tumour, we went to downtown Vancouver to get medical treatment (because we’re from BC), and he was told that he had to wait 6 months. My family was shocked because it was a completely absurd amount of time and my dad was worried that the tumour would grow bigger, so he decided to get medical treatment in the US instead. Compared to Canada, he has waited for a week and a half for medical treatment in the US when my family visited Seattle. It was expensive but it was completely worth it. Unfortunately he lost his battle with brain cancer. Rest in peace Dad I miss you!!!

[ChristaFree]

It's no better in Europe, b or anywhere else that has socialized medicine. Socialized anything is doomed to be a failure at it's inception. Why don't people get that after seeing it fail time and time again? Insanity. We get treatment immediately.

[FreeJulianAssange]

Doctors sit in their office while patients wait hours.

[cbl]

The NHS has “guaranteed wait times” and it routinely fails to meet them 90% of the time. Simply instating a law guaranteeing care within a certain time does not magically make doctors and nurses pop out of thin air to take care of you within that time frame.

[baule]

even if my country's healthcare system is not exactly the best I would still wait for healthcare cause I don't wanna go 2 million dollars in debt for healthcare

[upendersingh]

I meet lot of american tourists and its frightening to even imagine healthcare there and same is with many countries.
We have medical staff shortage thats it and if you say free healthcare has caused it then it means you believe that only top middle or elite class should have access to the healthcare

[Pe]

No matter how
Much you try to level the playing field there will always be a hierarchy of some kind.

[hdufort]

These raw numbers have absolutely no meaning. Critical medical care is always fasttracked. My wife had a lump in her breast and called our family doctor. She had an appointment the best week. An x-ray 5 days later. The results were in the same week. Then an ultrasound the next week. Cancer was ruled out. End to end, it took 2 weeks from her first call.

However, I have chronic pain and chronic migraine problems. Things are moving very slowly. For example, I'm supposed to have a nerve block (Botox injections along the nerve in the neck). It will take 4 months before I have the procedure. Why? Because my condition is stable and is not life threatening. I am in pain and I require medication (which is not super efficient) but this can't be compared with cancer.

Also: everything I mentioned here is free.

[betty]

:Last time someone in Canada said "I'm afraid it's cancer." I was in surgery after the weekend.

[durango.j-onez]

Immigration is the problem. Anytime i go to and emergency room, family doctors office, and to the labs, there is a long line of elederly people who dont speak a word of enlgish.

How are they getting infront of me?? - at least a 7th gen Canadian engineer who's family built this country, worked in health care, fought on the frontlines of the world wars, paid immense tax dollars with family buisnesses, and income taxes - just to be put in the back of the line.

My life has been on hold for 3 years now, conditions only worsening, a simple hernia turned into nerve damage and now an achillies heal tear. I am in constant pain and cannot do anything without struggle - at 30 years old. I was the fittest person in my group of friends and family, and among colleagues. Its been hard to keep my chin up when i see any hope of help drifitng away

[rokuwhitefox]

Waiting is better than not being able to get care at all because you can't afford it. I'm in that boat.

[CrowdPleeza]

Are there any examples of single payer systems that don't have issues with wait times?

[jptrainor]

Story is too light on detail. The system includes a layer of triage. If you have an urgent need you get urgent care. If you have a non urgent need then the queue is longer. What care, exactly, are trans gender people waiting an unreasonable amount of time to access? Since the story used that example. If they show up at emerg with heart attack like chest pain they'll get urgent care, just like everybody else. Is the quibble the priority of non urgent care? Availability of specialists? What is it?

[ahmadkarim]

here in canada the doctors are the best i have ever seen, this is due to a hyper competitive medical school system, compared to other countries Canada does not produce that many doctors

[sniperammow]

better then nothing, and this is very specific examples. its done by priority. a broken arm is taken in right away. something less time-sensitive like chronic back pain takes longer.

[katejackson]

It is ridiculous the care you get!!! If you have any thing that is more complicated you wait forever! Then your specialist don't talk to each other!! It is appalling how awful the care here is!
I am 40 years old and have consistent seizures, PoTS, and who knows what! The reason for my seizures is not known!! Even after 10 years... they have debilitated me to the point where I use a Walker! I am now looking at the possibility of having a wheelchair in the very near future and yet my doctor has shown no interest in getting to the underling cause for why this is happening.
Any testing I have received has come after I have demanded it. Often with the help of an advocate! Here current theory is that it is stress related! I mean my god woman, stress is not why people end up in wheelchairs!! If it was they would be everywhere!
I find it incredible that it has gotten to this point! I had a fantastic job before I became ill. I had a full life I was active. And overnight that changed and nothing is being done about it!

[durango.j-onez]

If we keep brining in 500, 000 people a year through immigration programs, our health care system will actually collapse

Jenny Kwan - the Vamcouver east ndp MP (had her seat handed to her) wants to expand thr program to include elderly family members and extended family, this is just wrong.

Our tax dollars shouldnt go to other peoples problems like they are. We need to be way more careful with our money and infrastructure.