WAIT TIMES IN ONTARIO SKYROCKETING, SYSTEM IN CRISIS

Ontario’s healthcare system is in trouble. Across the province, residents are waiting too long for family doctors, emergency care, diagnostic tests and surgeries.

The average wait to see a family physician for non-urgent issues has increased by 30 minutes over the past decade according to CBC’s health reporter Liam Casey in a 2023 feature. Emergency room (ER) wait times have surged to an average of 20 hours in 2024, up from 16 hours in 2017, despite $93.4 million in emergency funding in 2022/23.

Some propose expanding privatized healthcare to ease strain on hospitals, but this risks worsening Ontario’s healthcare crisis by diverting resources from public care and failing to address the physician shortage. 

Ontario needs bold policy changes to increase physician availability, improve coordination and invest in sustainable, long-term solutions. Rather than relying solely on funding, structural reforms are critical.

A recent crowdsourced qualitative study by Village Media found that long wait times are patients’ top concern. One cancer patient described waiting 84 days for surgery that should have happened within 28.

“My wife and I do not have a family doctor and are on a 10-year waiting list. I am 76,” one person stated. 

Those without a family doctor often rely on walk-in clinics and ERs, further straining the system. Even those with doctors face long waits, often weeks. Emergency rooms are similarly overwhelmed.

In December 2023, all five Ottawa ERs exceeded the province’s two-hour average for initial assessments as CTV news reporter Josh Pringle documented. 

CHEO and Queensway-Carleton had 3.7-hour waits, while Brockville General hit 4.2. For low-urgency cases, patients at the Ottawa Hospital General Campus waited an average of 6.4 hours, well above the four-hour target. 

The Ontario government has touted record investments: since 2018, funding has increased by 31 per cent, and over 80,000 nurses, 12,500 physicians, and 3,500 hospital beds have been added.

Budget 2024 includes $965 million to support smaller and northern hospitals. But research suggests funding alone is not enough. Some argue that increased healthcare spending does not always yield better outcomes without structural reform, such as improving physician availability and coordination. 

Privatization, often pitched as a solution, can make things worse. While Ontario has allowed private clinics to perform publicly funded surgeries, experts warn this could divert staff from public hospitals and create a two-tier system.

It does not solve the underlying doctor shortage. To address this, the province introduced the Learn and Stay grant, which covers tuition for 1,360 medical students in exchange for practicing family medicine in Ontario.

This aims to connect 1.36 million residents to primary care, but training new doctors takes years, and licensing internationally trained professionals remains challenging. 

Expanding virtual care is one short-term solution. Through a partnership with the Ontario Medical Association, the province offers 24/7 Telehealth services that connect patients to nurses for triage and care advice.

The Practice Ready Ontario (PRO) program also accelerates licensing for internationally trained doctors, with 100 new family physicians expected by the end of 2025.

These physicians will serve rural and high-need areas for at least three years. Additionally, investing in publicly funded community surgical and diagnostic centers, which offer OHIP-covered procedures like cataract surgery and imaging, can reduce hospital pressure and improve efficiency. 

Ontario’s healthcare system is stretched to its limits. Wait times are dangerously long, family doctors are scarce, and ERs are overwhelmed.

While funding is crucial, it must be paired with reforms that expand care teams, fast-track doctor licensing, improve digital access and strengthen public infrastructure. Without meaningful action, the crisis will only deepen. 

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