Nova Scotia has longest health care wait times in Canada: Fraser Institute

The province has responded to a report that outlines Nova Scotians face the longest wait times for health care in the entire country.

That data comes from a study released from the Fraser Institute yesterday.

The annual survey from doctors across Canada showed that, on average, Nova Scotians wait 56.7 weeks for access to health care, which is almost double the national average of 27.7 weeks.

The average wait time actually dropped by 1.5 weeks from 2022.

In a statement to CityNews Halifax from the Department of Health and Wellness, the province says it has seen success and it expects surgical wait times to continue to improve.

The province outlines there were 2174 more surgeries completed this year compared to the same time period last year and the surgical wait list has been decreasing for the past five fiscal quarters.

A few other details outlined in the statement include:

• 3,204 more endoscopy/cystoscopy procedures have been completed this year compared to same time period last year.
• An additional 159 outpatient hip/knee surgeries have been completed so far this year compared to same time period last year.
• About 200 people have been removed from the orthopedic wait list this year.
• About 100 people have been removed from the obstetrics wait list this year.
• A third endoscopy room was added in Dartmouth General, which has allowed an additional 125 cancer screenings to be performed each month.

Meantime, the Fraser Institute report suggests that residents in Prince Edward Island were facing the second longest wait times behind Nova Scotia at 55.2 weeks followed by New Brunswick at 52.6.

The study examines the total wait times faced by patients across 12 medical specialties from referral by a general practitioner to consultation with a specialist, to when the patient ultimately receives treatment.

More than 1,200 responses were received in the survey across 12 specialties and from ten provinces.