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Provincial Median Wait Times

Preliminary Data: This data comes from hospital booking records as of August 31, 2009. The data will change as hospitals receive further information from surgeons on completed cases. Ministry data audits have revealed significant weakness in these records.

Surgical Specialty

Median Wait Time in Weeks for the 3 months ending August 31/09

Patients Waiting as of August 31/09
     

Dental Surgery

6.0
2,129

Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery

6.9
6,547

Eye Surgery

6.0
13,719

General Surgery

3.1
10,695

Gynecology

4.7
6,844

Neurosurgery

3.9
1,962

Orthopedic Surgery

7.1
15,556

Plastic Surgery

4.9

4,370

Urology

4.0
6,188

Vascular Surgery

3.1
2,066

Cardiac Surgery

3.3

 158

Corneal Transplant

15.0

 462

Organ Transplants

N/A

 308

Cancer Services (Radiotherapy)

1.1

 346
     

Total

  
71,350

 
     

Specific Procedures (included in totals above)

   
     

Endarterectomy Head/Neck

2.8
88

Cataract Surgery

6.4
11,940

Gall Bladder

4.7
1,535

Hip Replacement

9.7
1,332

Knee Replacement

11.0
2,946

Long-Term Data:

Median Wait Times (Weeks) For Patients on Surgical Wait Registry
2001/02 to 2008/09

Fiscal Year

All
Surgeries

Cataracts

Cardiac Surgery (Open Heart)

Hip
Replacements

Knee
Replacements
2008/09                  5.0                  7.9                  6.9                10.0                13.0
2007/08                  4.4                  8.3                  9.0                11.0                16.9
2006/07                  4.0                  7.2                11.3                13.3                19.9
2005/06                  4.0                  7.1                  9.0                16.8                25.0
2004/05                  4.9                  9.4                  8.9                22.1                28.9
2003/04                  5.0                10.9                16.0                20.1                28.7
2002/03                  4.1                  8.7                15.1                17.0                22.8
2001/02                  4.1                  9.0                15.1                18.7                25.4


Sources:
Open Heart: BC Cardiac Registry, 6 April 2009, Provincial Health Services Authority.
All others: SWIFT, Standard Monthly Report, March 2009, Management Information Branch, HSPD.

Notes:
1. Median wait times are based on all surgeries completed during the fiscal year.
2. Median wait times were overstated in the past, due to a reporting issue at Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Health Sciences Centre. The issue has been resolved for all data from 2005/06 onward. These two hospitals have been removed from the calculation for years prior to 2005/06. This issue does not affect the total cases completed or the number of cases waiting. (This does not apply to open heart surgery.)

Data Audits: In 2004, the ministry began auditing wait list cases against other ministry databases. Approximately 14,500 cases have been identified that should no longer be on the wait list, as most of these patients have already received their surgery. These cases have been removed from the waitlist for public reporting while hospitals check the outdated cases and remove them from their booking lists. The ministry will continue to audit waitlist data to identify and examine any anomalies.

Operational waitlists for elective surgery are compiled and maintained by hospitals and physicians. The ministry uses the data they provide solely for analysis and public reporting.