Ontario emergency room patients spent 2.1 hours on average waiting for a first assessment by a doctor, the third month in a row and up from 1.8 hours at this time last year, according to Health Quality Ontario (HQO). .HQO data published on Wednesday revealed low-urgency patients not admitted to hospital waited 3.2 hours on average to be seen. The data said 74% of low-urgency patients finished their ER visits within four hours. .It went on to say high-urgency patients not admitted to hospital spent 4.7 hours waiting. It added 88% of high-urgency patients finished their ER visits within eight hours. .Emergency patients admitted to hospital spent 20.7 hours hospitalized. There were 24% of these patients who were discharged within eight hours. .The hospital with the worst wait times was Hawkesbury and District General Hospital at 4.6 hours. .Second place went to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (4.2 hours). This was followed by Windsor Regional Hospital- Metropolitan Campus (4.1), the Ottawa Hospital- General Campus (3.6), and Hamilton Health Sciences Corp - Juravinski Hospital (3.5). .The hospital with the best wait times was South Bruce Grey Health Centre - Durham (0.6). .The Ontario government announced on August 18 it planned to stabilize the healthcare system by increasing surgeries at private clinics covered by Ontario Health Insurance Plan, covering exam registration fees for internationally-trained nurses, and sending patients waiting for long-term care beds to a place not of their choosing. .READ MORE: Ontario to fund surgeries at more private clinics to assist healthcare system.Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said Ontario needs to be "bold, innovative and creative" when looking for ways to improve the system. Jones scolded people who choose to fight for the status quo. .“People want better health care," she said..The data for hospital wait times came from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System and the Canadian Institute for Health Information provided by Cancer Care Ontario.
