Provincial governments do not conduct analysis of the potential patient suffering that may occur while people are on long wait-lists for surgery or other medical care, according to new research.
“Not one province had analysis into patient suffering between 2020-22,” said the brief.
Patients can suffer mental health issues, including considering suicide or assisted suicide (MAID), or develop an addiction to painkillers. The organization said some people suffer vision loss, paralysis, and other permanent damage.
A patient could also require further medical care as a result of long wait times, said the organization, citing an example of a patient “having to wait so long for knee surgery that both knees need surgery due to carrying additional pressure for so long.”
“We’ve heard of patients developing health problems, some even considering suicide because they had to wait so long for surgery,” said Colin Craig, the president of SecondStreet.org, in an April 4 release.
“Yet, when we asked governments for information about these types of problems, no province had any information on the problem.”
The brief said governments should consider asking patients about side effects they experience while waiting for treatment as standard practice, in order to learn from patient suffering and find ways to mitigate it.
“Existing patient surveys could be amended to ask about this problem. Data from this research could potentially help policymakers as they work to reduce wait times and mitigate patient suffering,” said the brief.
The organization also pointed to the impacts of long waits on income, from being unable to work due to pain, mobility issues, and mental health problems. The brief noted family breakdown and strained relationships also occur “as treatable illnesses are turned into chronic illnesses purely to long waiting periods.”
Recommendations
SecondStreet.org recommended Canada implement a cross-border directive policy similar to that in Europe, which allows patients to choose a public or private health-care facility in another EU country and be reimbursed for their surgical bills by their home country.“Governments could help many patients find immediate relief by copying what the European Union does and reimburse patients for surgery they receive in other jurisdictions,” said Craig.
“In Europe, reimbursements are paid at the same rate that governments would have spent on local surgery, so it doesn’t really cost more money. It does, however, help patients get the care they need much faster and end their suffering.”
SecondStreet.org has prepared four “Died on a Waiting List” reports since the organization began investigating waitlists in 2019. The report uses data publicly available, but the organization says the numbers do not paint a complete picture because many health regions “simply do not track the data.”
These reports show more than 41,000 patients have died while waiting for various health services since April 1, 2018.
The waiting list deaths cover a wide array of health services–heart operations, hip operations, cataract surgery, CT and MRI scans. Patients died after waiting anywhere from less than a month to more than eight years.
“Governments’ lack of interest in tracking and reporting on patients dying on waiting lists stands in stark contrast to how governments often require businesses to track minor accidents in the workplace,” said the brief.
