WAITING YOUR TURN: HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS IN CANADA

The median wait time for Canadians seeking surgical or other therapeutic treatment dropped to 17.3 weeks in 2008 from 18.3 weeks in 2007, according to new research published by the Fraser Institute.

Despite the small improvement, many Canadians are still waiting 121 days or more for necessary medical treatment. Despite the overall decrease in national median waiting times, some provinces experienced increases in total wait times:

• Saskatchewan has the longest total wait time at 28.8 weeks, an increase from 27.2 in 2007.
• Nova Scotia jumped to 27.6 weeks from 24.8 in 2007.
• Newfoundland and Labrador had the third longest wait time at 24.4 weeks, up from 24.1 weeks in 2007.

Source: Michael Walker, Nadeem Esmail and Maureen Hazel, "Waiting Your Turn: Hospital Waiting Lists in Canada," Fraser Institute, October 7, 2008.

[the inevitable {based on all examples available} path of government run health care]

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