WHY ARE CANADIANS STILL WAITING FOR HEALTH CARE?

Wait lists for medically necessary health care are Canada's shame, says writer Nadeem Esmail. Or, as Beverly McLachlin, Chief Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court, says, access to a waiting list is not access to health care.

* In 2007, wait times for access to health care in Canada reached a new historic high: 18.3 weeks averaged across 12 medical specialties.
* Canadians waited a median of 25 weeks for cataract surgery from the time their general practitioner referred them to a specialist to the time they received treatment.
* Canadians waited a median of 42 weeks for joint replacement.

Consider the personal costs a wait line of that magnitude entails in
term of pain and suffering and actually making a condition worse.

READ MORE