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National Priorities

Canada’s first ministers have identified five priority areas for improvement in surgical wait times – cardiac surgery, vision improvement, diagnostic imaging procedures, cancer care, and hip and knee replacements.

BC is doing well and continuing to improve in all of those areas:

• Cardiac surgery wait times have dropped steadily significantly since 2004. Outcomes for heart patients are steadily improving.
• Wait times for eye surgery are also declining.
• Median wait time for the start of cancer radiation treatment is less than a week, and outcomes for cancer patients continue to improve.
• BC has added seven new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners since 2001, seven new CT scanners and one PET scanner. The number of diagnostic lab procedures, including electronic imaging, is steadily increasing.
• Hip and knee replacement wait times have dropped significantly in the last year, as part of the $60.5 million wait strategy announced in February. Despite the drop in waits, this is still a priority area for improvement. The number of knee and hip surgeries has increased dramatically to meet the needs of a healthy, active and aging population.