The death funnel
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2026 11:46 am
Over 23,000 Canadians died last year while waiting for surgery or diagnostic scans.
At the same time, average wait times now look like this:
Neurosurgery: 49.9 weeks
Orthopedic surgery: 48.6 weeks
Plastic surgery: 41.5 weeks
Gynecology: 40.6 weeks
Even getting an MRI scan averages 16 weeks.
And now emergency rooms across the country are reporting 20+ hour waits just to be admitted to a bed.
Meanwhile, the pressures on the system are only getting worse.
During the pandemic, governments spent over $300 billion on non-COVID programs. Yet Canadians see no meaningful improvement in healthcare capacity.
Now:
• Nearly 8 million baby boomers are entering the years when they need the most medical care.
• About half of Canada’s doctors are expected to retire over the next decade.
More demand.
Fewer doctors.
Longer wait lists.
Healthcare delivery may be provincial, but the crisis is national.
The system isn’t strained.
It’s broken.
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/185WXYrpzr/
At the same time, average wait times now look like this:
Neurosurgery: 49.9 weeks
Orthopedic surgery: 48.6 weeks
Plastic surgery: 41.5 weeks
Gynecology: 40.6 weeks
Even getting an MRI scan averages 16 weeks.
And now emergency rooms across the country are reporting 20+ hour waits just to be admitted to a bed.
Meanwhile, the pressures on the system are only getting worse.
During the pandemic, governments spent over $300 billion on non-COVID programs. Yet Canadians see no meaningful improvement in healthcare capacity.
Now:
• Nearly 8 million baby boomers are entering the years when they need the most medical care.
• About half of Canada’s doctors are expected to retire over the next decade.
More demand.
Fewer doctors.
Longer wait lists.
Healthcare delivery may be provincial, but the crisis is national.
The system isn’t strained.
It’s broken.
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/185WXYrpzr/