Latest news with #waittimes
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Advocates work to put health care on the radar as premiers meet in Ontario
OTTAWA — Health-care advocacy groups and associations representing doctors and nurses are in Ontario's cottage country this week, trying to ensure health care remains a top priority for premiers. The post-pandemic crisis in health care has taken centre stage at the Council of the Federation in recent years as premiers have pushed Ottawa for more funding. This year, there's a concern that staff shortages and long wait times will take a back seat as the premiers focus on trade and the economy. The Canadian Medical Association, which represents physicians, is focusing its message on the health-care system's footprint in the national economy. CMA president Dr. Margot Burnell says she will be stressing that healthy communities are essential to a healthy economy. The Canadian Nurses Association, meanwhile, is working to convince premiers to harmonize their licensing systems to break down interprovincial barriers to labour mobility. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025. Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
CTV News
10-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Ottawa hospital ER wait times exceed provincial average
CHEO, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, located on Smyth Road in Ottawa is seen in this undated file photo. Three Ottawa hospitals have some of the longest wait times in Ontario for a first assessment by a doctor in a hospital emergency room, and all five ERs in Ottawa exceed the provincial average. Statistics from Health Quality Ontario show the average wait time for a first assessment by a doctor in the emergency room was two hours in May. CHEO and the Queensway-Carleton Hospital tied for the third longest wait time in Ontario to see a doctor in May, at 3.6 hours. The wait time for a first assessment at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital increased from 3.4 hours in April. The average wait time was 3.3 hours at CHEO. The wait time for a first assessment by a doctor in the ER at the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus was 3.5 hours in May, up from 3.3 hours in April and 2.9 hours in March. Patients waited an average of 2.6 hours for a first assessment in the ER at the Montfort Hospital in May, while the average wait to see a doctor was 2.1 hours at the Ottawa Hospital General Campus. The Windsor Regional Hospital – Metropolitan Campus had the longest wait for a first assessment in the ER in Ontario in May, at four hours. Patients waited an average of 3.5 hours for a first assessment by a doctor at the Winchester District Memorial Hospital emergency department. Time in the hospital All Ottawa hospitals continue to exceed the provincial target for the average length of stay in the ER for low-urgent patients not admitted to hospital. The average stay in the ER across Ontario was 3.2 hours in May, while the target time is four hours. In Ottawa, the average length of stay in the ER for low-urgent patients not admitted to hospital ranged from 6.1 hours at the Montfort Hospital, 5.4 hours at CHEO, 5.4 hours at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital, 5.1 hours at the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus and 4.8 hours at the General Campus. The Kingston Health Sciences Centre's Kingston General had the longest length of time in the ER for low-urgent patients not admitted to hospital, with patients spending an average of 6.4 hours in the ER.
CTV News
05-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Longer than normal wait times at CKHA
The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) said wait times will be longer than normal due to an influx in patients in the emergency department. It ensures that critically ill patients will remain the priority for service. If you are not experiencing an emergency, you are asked to look for care in community settings, like your family physician or walk-in clinic to reduce strain at the emergency department. In Chatham-Kent, walk-in clinics and other resources are available here.
CBC
04-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Island Health launches estimated ER wait times website
The health authority for Vancouver Island has launched a website with estimated emergency room wait times for most hospitals in its jurisdiction. The webpage launched on July 3 and also notes ER closures and includes information about other resources available for people seeking same-day care, like the region's urgent primary care centres. "It's important for people to be able to easily find and understand the different care options that are available to them so that they can make the best choice for themselves or a loved one," said Marko Peljhan, Island Health's vice-president for acute clinical operations. During a media briefing, Peljhan said the listed wait times are not calculated by using real-time data. Instead, they are determined by averaging similar times over an eight-week period and are updated every hour. "This is what will be your most likely wait at that given date and time, but it may not be completely accurate depending on what's happening in that moment," Peljhan said, adding that a major incident could affect the times listed on the website. "Emergency departments are very dynamic places, so that could change rapidly." Peljhan said Island Health reviewed several different ways of gathering the data to list wait times, and it felt that this was the most accurate system. The health authority estimates that nine out of 10 patients will be seen during those estimated times. The website emphasizes that the most urgent cases will be seen first, and most people should be seen sooner than the estimated time. Peljhan said anyone with life-threatening needs should skip the website and call 911. Data on wait times isn't available at some Island Health hospitals, however. The hospitals in Tofino, Alert Bay, Salt Spring Island, Port Hardy and Port McNeill just say "open." Peljhan says that's because they use different software to monitor their wait times. He said Island Health is interested in investing in those hospitals' electronic health records, but it doesn't currently have the capacity to do that. Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health have had similar websites up for several years. 'A great step in the right direction' Langford resident Rosanna Carbone was happy to hear about the new website. "I think that's going to really help people out," said Carbone, who started a Facebook group last year for people to share wait times at local emergency rooms. "It's a great step in the right direction." Carbonne says she started the Facebook group after having taken her son, who was around 18 months old at the time, to the ER when she couldn't secure an appointment with her family doctor for weeks. She says they waited for about seven hours, at which point they just left. Knowing how long the wait might be can help anxious parents and other patients be mentally prepared for a long wait, Carbonne says, as well as with snacks or a phone charger and other necessities.
National Post
02-07-2025
- Health
- National Post
Ontario to expand publicly-funded hip and knee surgeries performed in private clinics
TORONTO — Ontario is expanding the delivery of publicly paid orthopedic surgeries through private clinics in an effort to reduce wait-lists. Article content Ontario is investing $125 million to add upwards of 20,000 orthopedic surgeries at community surgical centres over the next two years. Article content Article content Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the expansion will reduce wait times for hip and knee replacements. Article content Article content The province opened up a call for applications for new licences to be issued in 2026. Article content Article content
