The province cut wait times for hip replacements, knee replacements, cataract surgery, radiation oncology and cardiac services. Ontario is the only Canadian province that has made substantial reduction in wait times for medical procedures.
The measures were for February, with detailed statistics on different medical services and the number of days it took before the patient was treated. The cuts varied by procedure and specialty.
For instance, for bones, joint and muscle cancer surgery, the provincial target was 84 days, but the actual wait time was whittled down to 29 days only across the South East LHIN area. For the same area, target was 182 days, but actual wait time went down to 120 days for cataract surgeries.
The WTA recommended that Ontario further reduce wait times for MRI and CT scans, although scan volumes had gone up 100 percent over the past four years and there has been some improvements in cutting the wait times.
This is the third year that WTA issued its annual report. WTA is made up of national medical specialty organizations including the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and the Canadian Association of Radiologists.
The positive feedback from WTA prompted George Smitherman, Ontario Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term care, in a statement, to promise residents, "We have unlocked the knowledge of leadership necessary in this area and we intend to focus further on emergency room wait times."
