While wait times have improved since the beginning of the pandemic, patients in Canada continued to experience longer wait times for surgery in 2020–2021 compared with before the pandemic. A new study from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) looks at trends in wait times over the first 18 months of the pandemic (April 2020 to September 2021). The data shows that while wait times improved over this period, elective surgeries were delayed several times, resulting in longer wait times as health systems prioritized urgent procedures during the second and third waves of the pandemic.
According to CIHI’s data, about 600,000 fewer surgeries were performed across Canada since the beginning of the pandemic, with joint replacements and cataract surgeries accounting for about 25% of the total reduction in surgeries. Although wait times for some procedures remain longer than in the pre-pandemic period, lessons learned from early in the pandemic caused health systems to shift resources where possible to minimize further backlogs in surgeries and diagnostic tests.
Key findings
- Between April and September 2021, cancer surgery volumes rebounded, coming close to their pre-pandemic levels. This contrasted with the first 6 months of the pandemic, which saw about 20% fewer cancer surgeries compared with the pre-pandemic period.
- Most people received care for urgent procedures like radiation therapy and hip fracture repair within recommended time frames. From April to September 2021, 85% of patients received hip fracture repair within the recommended 48 hours, while 97% of patients received radiation therapy within the recommended 4 weeks.
- Patients continued to experience longer wait times for joint replacements. About 59% of patients received knee replacements within the recommended time frame, compared with 70% in the pre-pandemic period. About 65% of patients received hip replacements within the recommended time frame, compared with 75% in the pre-pandemic period.
- Cataract surgery wait times rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in most provinces, with about 66% of patients receiving cataract surgery within the recommended time frame (compared with 70% in the pre-pandemic period).
- Median wait times for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were shorter by about 5 to 6 days compared with pre-pandemic wait times, due in part to shifting resources, including increased staffing that allowed MRI machines to run extended hours in some settings.
Quote
It’s encouraging to see that lessons learned from earlier in the pandemic improved wait times for cataract surgeries and MRIs; however, the numbers don’t paint the full picture. There are people behind the numbers, and we don’t yet know all the ways in which delayed testing and procedures have impacted the overall health or quality of life of patients in Canada.— Tracy Johnson, Director, Health System Analytics, CIHI
About CIHI
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing essential health information to all Canadians.
CIHI works closely with federal, provincial and territorial partners and stakeholders throughout Canada to gather, package and disseminate information to inform policy, management, care and research, leading to better and more equitable health outcomes for all Canadians.
Health information has become one of society’s most valuable public goods. For more than 25 years, CIHI has set the pace on data privacy, security, accessibility and innovation to improve Canada’s health systems.
CIHI: Better data. Better decisions. Healthier Canadians.
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