Ontario residents spent on average at least one hour and 54 minutes waiting to be assessed by an emergency room doctor in April 2022, according to a report from Health Quality Ontario. .The report said average wait times in Ontario fluctuated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. .According to the data, the lowest average wait time was one hour and 18 minutes in April 2021. Health Quality Ontario said the longest average wait time was one hour and 54 minutes in August 2021, November 2021, and this April. .The data showed average wait times by hospitals across Ontario. .The hospital with the longest emergency room wait time was Windsor Regional Hospital- Metropolitan Campus in Windsor, Ont., at five hours. This was followed by Hawkesbury and District General Hospital in Hawkesbury, Ont., and Halton Healthcare Services Corporation — Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital in Oakville, Ont., at three hours and 30 minutes. .The hospital with the shortest wait times were Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont., and William Osler Health System- Peel Memorial Center in Brampton, Ont., at 36 minutes. .Patients spent three hours on average for minor ailments in Ontario hospitals, said the data. It said 76% of these patients finished their emergency room visit in four hours. .Health Quality Ontario said people waited four hours and 30 minutes for major ailments in emergency rooms. This organization said 90% of the patients finished their visits in eight hours. .This data comes after a report in April said people sitting on waiting lists for surgery and medical procedures across Canada led to $4.1 billion in lost income and productivity in 2021..The Fraser Institute reported these losses..“While we are constantly reminded of the consequences of COVID-19, less discussed are the consequences of unreasonable waits for surgery which can range from physical pain and psychological distress for some, to permanent disability and death for others,” said Fraser Institute health policy studies director and report co-author Bacchus Barua.
