Waiting Too Long: Reducing and Better Managing Wait Times in BC

Wait lists remain one of the most significant problems facing our health care system. The importance of reducing waits has been raised in numerous health care reports. In the 2004 federal Throne Speech, the government stated that “the length of waiting times for the most important diagnoses and treatments is a litmus test of our health care system [and] these waiting times must be reduced.”

Public opinion surveys also highlight the importance placed on reducing wait lists. In a 2005 Pollara Poll, the highest number of respondents (43%) identified lengthy waits followed by a shortage of physicians (33%) as the most serious problems facing the health care system. A 2006 survey done by the Canada West Foundation found over 75% of respondents from the western provinces identified reducing patient wait times as a high priority. This was the highest ranking among 17 policy issues. The Doctors of BC believes it is essential to provide a strategy to help reduce and better manage wait times within BC’s health care system. In addition to providing recommendations, we provide a thorough environmental scan on what BC and other jurisdictions have done in the area of wait lists.

To address the wait list problem, the federal government has responded with two major initiatives. First, $41 billion of federal funding was announced in 2004 as part of the First Ministers 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care. This funding created a $5.5 billion ten-year Wait Times Reduction Fund and stipulated that provinces achieve meaningful reduction in five priority areas (cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements and cataracts). Secondly, in December of 2005, federal and provincial Health Ministers announced ten benchmarks aimed at cutting wait times for medical services.

BC’s share of the Wait Times Reduction Fund will total approximately $715 million over the entire ten years of the plan. It is unclear how the provincial government plans to spend its share of the federal funds allocated for wait time reductions. The Doctors of BC recommends that a significant portion of the new funding allocated until 2009/10 be used to increase the capacity of the acute care sector so that benchmarks may be achieved.

These are good first steps. Reducing wait times begins with accurate measurement so that actual wait times can be compared to benchmarks and progress monitored, policy adapted and funding directed accordingly. 

For the full policy paper, please see “Waiting Too Long: Reducing and Better Managing Wait Times in BC”.