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Report

No fewer than 2,300 non-COVID patients died on surgical wait lists in 2020

21708547 - mid adult woman talking to doctor about her diagnosis
  • SecondStreet.org releases government data showing over 10,000 patients died while waiting on all categories of wait lists

Think tank SecondStreet.org released today government data that shows over 10,000 patients died while waiting for surgery, a procedure, diagnostic scan or appointment with a specialist between April 1, 2019 – December 31, 2020. Included in that total are 2,367 patients who passed away while waiting for surgery during calendar year 2020, which covers eight months of the pandemic period.

SecondStreet.org gathered the data by filing freedom of information requests across the country. The findings are summarized in a new policy brief – Died on a waiting list. Each health body’s freedom of information response can be viewed at www.secondstreet.org.

“The most unfortunate part about so many patients dying on waiting lists in our health care system is that many of these tragedies could have been prevented,” said Colin Craig, President of SecondStreet.org. “Health reform could save lives and improve the quality of life that patients experience in their final years. Australia, New Zealand, Norway, there are many other countries out there with both universal health care and better outcomes for patients.”

  • Lack of data: Many governments do not track data on patient deaths while waiting for surgery/medical appointments. Thus, the totals in this report are underreported.
  • Fiscal year 2019-20: Government data shows there were at least 2,256 patient deaths while waiting for surgery and 6,202 deaths while waiting for diagnostic scans or appointments with specialists.
  • Calendar year 2020: SecondStreet.org filed additional requests for data during the pandemic period. This data shows over 2,367 patients died while waiting for surgery in 2020.
  • Wide array of cases: Patients passed away while waiting for procedures which could be linked with their cause of death (eg. cardiac surgery), as well as procedures which could have increased their quality of life (eg. cataract surgery). Patient deaths occurred after waiting less than one month to more than eight years.

“Governments postponed hundreds of thousands of surgeries, procedures and appointments with specialists during the pandemic,” added Craig. “If we don’t see meaningful health reform, we should expect to see even more patient suffering in the years ahead.”

To view the Died on a waiting list policy brief – click here


DATA FROM HEALTH REGIONS / HOSPITAL:

BC – Interior Health
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

BC – Fraser Health
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

AB – Alberta Health
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

SK – Ministry of Health
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths –click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

MB – Prairie Mountain Health
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Hospital for Sick Children
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Guelph General Hospital
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Trillium Health Partners
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Queens Way Carleton Hospital
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Sinai Health System
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Southlake Regional Health Centre
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Mackenzie Health
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Scarborough Health Network
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – London Health Sciences Centre
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Hamilton Health Sciences Corp.
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – The Ottawa Hospital
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Lakeridge Health (Oshawa)
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Markham-Stouffville Hospital
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Hôpital Montfort
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Halton Health Care
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Niagara Health Systems
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here

ON – Ontario Health (Central Tracking)
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

NS – Nova Scotia Health Authority
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2019/20 Fiscal year diagnostic scan waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

PEI – Health PEI
– 2019/20 Fiscal year surgical waiting list deaths – click here
– 2020 Calendar year surgical waiting list deaths – click here

UPDATE: This news release was updated on July 8, 2021 to revise the longest waiting period a patient went through from six years to eight years.

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Prevention – reduce demand in the first place

If Canadians lived healthier lives, we could reduce demand for emergency services, orthopaedic surgeries, primary care and more. 

For instance, if you visit the Canadian Cancer Society’s website, you’ll read that “about four in ten” cancer cases are preventable. The Heart and Stroke Foundation notes that “almost 80 percent of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented through healthy behaviours.” A similar number of Diabetes cases are also preventable. 

Many joint replacements and visits to ERs and walk-in clinics could also be avoided through healthy living. 

To be sure, not all health problems can be avoided through healthy living – everyday the system treats Canadians with genetic conditions, helps those injured in unavoidable accidents and more.  

But there is an opportunity to reduce pressure on the health care system through Canadians shifting to healthier lifestyles – better diets, more exercise, etc. 

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or see this column. 

Partner with non-profits and for-profit clinics

European countries will partner with anyone who can help patients. 

It doesn’t matter if it’s a non-profit, a government entity or a private clinic. What matters is that patients receive quality treatment, in a timely manner and for a competitive price.  

In Canada, governments often delivery services using government-run hospitals instead of seeing if non-profit or private clinics could deliver the services more effectively. 

When governments have partnered with non-profit and private clinics, the results have often been quite good – Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia are just a few examples of where partnerships have worked well. 

Canada should pursue more of these partnerships to reduce wait times and increase the volume of services provided to patients.  

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or see the links above. 

Make cross border care more accessible

In Canada, citizens pay high taxes each year and we’re promised universal health care services in return. The problem is, wait times are often extremely long in our health system – sometimes patients have to wait years to see a specialist or receive surgery. 

If patients don’t want to wait long periods, they often have to reach into their own pocket and pay for treatment outside the province or country. 

Throughout the European Union, we also find universal health care systems. But a key difference is that EU patients have the right to go to other EU countries, pay for surgery and then be reimbursed by their home government. Reimbursements cover up to what the patient’s home government would have spent to provide the treatment locally. 

If Canada copied this approach, a patient waiting a year to get their hip operation could instead receive treatment next week in one of thousands of surgical clinics throughout the developed world. 

Governments benefit too as the patient is now back on their feet and avoiding complications that sometimes come with long wait times – meaning the government doesn’t have to treat those complications on top of the initial health problem. 

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or this shorter video. 

Legalize access to non-government providers

Canada is the only country in the world that puts up barriers, or outright bans patients from paying for health services locally. 

For instance, a patient in Toronto cannot pay for a hip operation at a private clinic in Toronto. Their only option is to wait for the government to eventually provide treatment or leave the province and pay elsewhere. 

Countries with better-performing universal health care systems do not have such bans. They allow patients a choice – use the public system or pay privately for treatment. Sweden, France, Australia and more – they all allow choice. 

Why? One reason is that allowing choice means some patients will decide to pay privately. This takes pressure off the public system. For instance, in Sweden, 87% of patients use the public system, but 13% purchase private health insurance. 

Ultimately, more choice improves access for patients. 

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or watch this short clip on this topic. 

Shift to funding services for patients, not bureaucracies

In Canada, most hospitals receive a cheque from the government each year and are then asked to do their best to help patients. This approach is known as “block funding”. 

Under this model, a patient walking in the door represents a drain on the hospital’s budget. Over the course of a year, hospital administrators have to make sure the budget stretches out so services are rationed. This is why you might have to wait until next year or the year after for a hip operation, knee operation, etc. 

In better-performing universal health systems, they take the opposite approach – hospitals receive money from the government each time they help a patient. If a hospital completes a knee operation, it might receive, say, $10,000. If it completes a knee operation on another patient, it receives another $10,000. 

This model incentivizes hospitals to help more patients – to help more patients with knee operations, cataract surgery, etc. This approach also incentivizes hospitals to spend money on expenses that help patients (e.g. more doctors, nurses, equipment, etc.) rather than using the money on expenses that don’t help patients (e.g. more admin staff). 

To learn more about this policy option, please watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or see this post by MEI.