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Canadians requiring surgery or cancer care often face long waits for treatment, in some cases well over one year before they receive medical treatment. The current average wait time for a hip replacement in the province of British Columbia is 11 months, while the average wait time for a knee replacement surgery is 18 months.1
Waiting for care causes unnecessary anxiety, pain, deterioration of health and stress.
While there is little evidence of harm from short or moderate waits (of less than six months) for elective surgery, wait times of greater than six months appear to be associated with significant declines in surgical outcomes, as well as prolonged discomfort and disability for the patient.2
Learn
more about wait list times.
1 British Columbia Orthopaedic Association The Arthritis Society, B.C. and Yukon Division, Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery in British Columbia: Historical Volumes and Projected Need (2004).
2 British Columbia Orthopaedic Association The Arthritis Society, B.C. and Yukon Division.
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