Wait times for priority procedures in Canada, 2024

April 4, 2024 — Are Canadians waiting longer for priority procedures such as hip and knee replacements, cataract and cancer surgeries, and diagnostic imaging compared with the pre-pandemic period? Have priority procedure volumes recovered to pre-pandemic levels in Canada? Explore our interactive tool and data tables to learn more about recent trends in surgical volumes and wait times. These findings will inform recovery and planning efforts by health systems to deliver more timely care to Canadians. 

Key Findings

• Between April and September 2023, fewer patients received a hip or knee replacement within the recommended 6 months compared with the same period in 2019, despite an increase in the number of surgeries performed (18% and 15%, respectively).
• Cataract surgery wait times have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 70% of patients treated within the recommended 112 days in 2023 (the percentage had dropped to 45% in 2020).  
• While most patients received radiation therapy or hip fracture repair within benchmark (94% and 82%, respectively), the percentage decreased slightly (3% to 4%) between 2019 and 2023. 
• Median wait times were 2 to 4 days longer for breast, bladder, colorectal and lung cancer surgeries in 2023 than in 2019, and 11 days longer for prostate cancer surgery.
• Between April and September 2023, median wait times were 7 days longer for MRI scans and 4 days longer for CT scans compared with the same period in 2019.