Updated Figures: Died on a Waiting List

Died on a waiting list
  • New data on patients dying while waiting for surgery and other health services from Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba

CALGARY, AB: Think tank SecondStreet.org updated its 2021-22 Died on a Waiting List figures today by releasing new figures from Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba. Each year, SecondStreet.org files freedom of information requests nation-wide with health regions and provincial health bodies to gather data on the number of patients who are removed from waiting lists for surgery, diagnostic scans and appointments with specialists due to death. 

Released in December 2022, SecondStreet.org’s 2021-22 Died on a Waiting List report showed 13,581 waiting list deaths spanning a wide array of health services – cardiac surgery, cataract surgery, hip operations, MRI scans, etc. Since that time, SecondStreet.org has received more information from governments for 2021-22, which covers the period from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.

Updated data brings the total number of waiting list deaths last year to 14,057. New data includes:

  • 48 Albertans died while waiting for surgery and 79 died waiting for a diagnostic scan. Unlike previous years, the types of surgeries were not disclosed. To see the data – click here.
  • 6 Manitobans died while waiting for cardiac surgery from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (4 died after waiting longer than the recommended time period) – click here.
  • Ontario provided details on the 1,417 patients who died while waiting for surgery in 2021-22:  42% were for cataract surgery, 10% urologic, 8% knee surgery and 7% cancer – click here.

The goal of SecondStreet.org’s research is to better understand how many of these patient deaths could have been prevented if more timely access to life-saving services and procedures were available.  How often are tragic stories like Laura Hillier’s, Shannon Anderson’s, Jerry Dunham’s and Michel Houle’s occurring and what are some policy solutions to address the problem?

“With the exception of the province of Nova Scotia, provincial governments and their respective health bodies do not break down the number of patient deaths potentially linked to the state taking too long to provide needed services,” said SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig.  “Oddly, governments across Canada routinely require businesses to detail even the most minor workplace injuries such as accidents where employees are bruised as a result. If this is something businesses must track, why can’t the government tell us how many patients are dying due to long waiting lists?”

 To see scans from other provinces and health regions – click here

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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.