B.C. patients lost average of $2,600 in wages while waiting for healthcare in 2021: study

Medical wait times in Canada cost over $4 billion last year in lost wages, but only two provinces are losing more per patient than British Columbia.

In a new study, the Fraser Institute estimates that 1.4 million Canadians lost a combined $4.1 billion in wages and productivity while waiting for medically necessary treatment. The average patient lost $2,848.

British Columbian patients fared slightly below average, with each losing approximately $2,611 in 2021, according to the study.

The most losses among all provinces – by far – was Nova Scotia, where patients lost an average of $6,343 while waiting for healthcare. The second highest province is Manitoba at $3,519.

READ MORE: Lillooet woman waiting for months, had five cancellations for knee surgery at Kamloops hospital

The only provinces with patients losing less than British Columbians are Ontario and Newfoundland, where residents lost an average of $1,855 and $1,985, respectively.

Across Canada, median wait time for medical treatment were an average of 25.6 weeks in 2021, which is the longest in the survey’s history.

“While some of this backlog is the direct result of COVID-19 related closures, results from the same survey suggest that almost as many 1.1 million patients were waiting for treatment in 2019 – before the pandemic started,” Fraser Institute policy analyst and study co-author Mackenzie Moir said in a media release.

“Health-care workers across Canada should be commended for the superb job they’re doing to get us through this global pandemic,” Fraser Institute co-author and director of health policy studies Bacchus Barua said in the release. “However, 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.”

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