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Patients In Ontario Wait Longer For Treatment

by Medindia Content Team on Dec 15 2005 2:45 PM

The waiting times at Ontario’s hospitals are getting longer, according to Government data which have been leaked. This has been revealed by Elizabeth Witmer, the Conservative health critic. The waiting time rose from 34 days to 37 days between July and September 2005 for cancer surgery, while it rose from 139 days to 142 days for cataract surgery. The waiting time increased to 22 days for cardiac surgeries, while in the case of angioplasty, it rose to 11 days.

George Smitherman, the country’s Health Minister has said that initial numbers do not reflect the reality as this is the first time that such data is being collected in Ontario. In addition to this, the data of all the hospitals have not yet been reported. The Minister also asserted that the number of surgeries performed have actually increased.

In the meantime the territorial health ministers of the country have introduced a plan aimed at shortening the waiting time for important health care services. Acceptable waiting times have been set for high priority areas like sight restoration, cardiac and cancer treatment, diagnostic services, and hip and knee treatments.


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