A snapshot of the wait times issue : Aperçu de la question des temps d'attente

The 10-Year Plan included an agreement between Ministers to collect and provide meaningful information to Canadians on progress made in reducing wait times, as follows: • Each jurisdiction agreed to establish comparable indicators of access to health care professionals and to diagnostic and treatment procedures, and to develop a report to their citizens by 31 December 2005. [...] In the fall of 2004, the Wait Time Alliance (WTA) was formed as the physicians’ response to concerns for Canadians’ access to health care. [...] The WTA comprises representation from the Canadian Medical Association and specialty associations relevant to the wait times issue, including the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine, the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncologists, the Canadian Association of Radiologists, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, the Canadian Ophthalmological Society and the Canadian Orthopaedic Association. [...] Also, in July 2005 the Prime Minister appointed a Federal Advisor on Wait Times, reporting to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health, whose mandate is to work with federal, provincial and territorial governments in order to fulfil the commitments made by First Ministers. [...] The percentage of cases to be handled within the benchmark timeframe is referred to as the target; the higher the target, the L I B R A R Y. O F. P A R L I A M E N T B I B L I O T H È Q U E. D U. P A R L E M E N T 3 more meaningful the benchmark.