Provincial Wait times

Ok so I wrote a letter to my MPP last week about the wait times in the province for Bariatric Surgery.  My referal for Surgery was sent from my Doctor March 2010 and I hopefully will have the surgery in Sept so Im told.  Don't get me wrong I do not blame the hospital or the clinic as it is not there fault and im sure take the brunt of the blame from patients who are waiting and getting frustrated.  I never expected that it would in any way effect my surgery date or speed things up for me but I think they need to address this issue as the list seems to be getting bigger then the clinics can handle.
I did however want to point out to the Ontario Govt that they keep saying they are reducing wait times for sugery however from what I can tell they are increasing.
So today I got a letter back telling me that it isn't there fault to take it up with the hospital blah blah blah and then it directed me to the Ministry of Health site for wait lists and it says the wait for bariatric surgery at Guelph is 85 days...WHAT?
http://www.waittimes.net/SurgeryDI/EN/Type.aspx?view=1
if you go to adult and then general surgery you can see the wait times for each hospital and the longest is 125 days at St Joe's in Toronto.  I would really like to know where they get there figures from.

 Hi There I hope it is not to long of a wait. I had to wait 4 years for approval in montreal. The wait time through medicare has gone up from 7 years to 10 years wait. Not sure how accurate it is now may have gone down. I put my letter and referral in Dec 2008 and got approved last month. I have gone through my pre-op blood test, EKG, Chest X-ray and all the works. I have my first group session next thursday and then start my optifast. Good luck with everything. I find it strange that the wait time is sooo long but if you pay out of pocket you can have it done like 4 to 6 weeks after paying. I think they just want people to get fed up and payout of pocket for the surgery.

I dont think they're taking the total wait times - from the time of referral to surgery.  I didnt wait long at all from time of referral to surgery date - only 9 months.  From the time of orientation to surgery it's only 5 months and that's really good but it's still longer than 125 days and Humber is boasting a 77 day average wait.   From the time of my last surgeon's appt to surgery date it'll be 57 days.  Closer to what they're posting.

Just curious Simona - were you on a cancellation list? Those are pretty short wait times compared to a lot of other waits. Lucky you!

Deb

Deb, no I wasn't on the cancellation call back lists. I didn't even know they existed. I'm going through Humber and I'm finding they have the shortest wait times. I was also pro-active & called to book all of my appointments rather than wait for them to call. This was actually suggested by the Internist.



I've recommended to a few people to switch their files over to Humber. Some of these wait times are ridiculous. This is life saving and life changing surgery. People shouldn't have to wait 2 years for it.

And yes, you're right - I am VERY lucky.

Well, see that? Just one more example of how it pays to be pro-active! It was great that your internist suggested that Simona or you'd still be waiting for some of your appointments.  I've switched from Guelph to Toronto at my internist's suggestion so who knows - maybe I'll end up at Humber as well.  I guess I'll likely hear something about it after my appt with the physiotherapist at the end of July.  My gosh, you're getting so close now.......!

Deb

Please, please, please, please  take your story to the Ombudsman's office.

The only way things are going to improve is if the clinics and the government is put under pressure.  The more people going to that office, the more pressure and the more things will change.

CNC

I realize they don't go from referral date however I think they should.  If I get a referral and they make me wait 14 months before being seen and then 3 months till surgery I don't think its fair that the government can claim its only a 3 month wait.  I know I just made those numbers up but you know what I mean.  They can skew the numbers to whatever they want its still a total wait time.
As for the ombudsman I went to his site and on it I read that they want you to have at least put a complaint in to the government body the complaint is about so that is what I did before I could put a complaint in to him.
As I said it won't effect me in any way as, God willing, I'm finally near the end of the wait however for those just starting the process its even longer then I had to wait and will only get worse unless the government recognizes the demand for this and does something about it.

I don't understand.  Or maybe I should be grateful that I am doing this in Toronto.  My referral was sent last August.  The nurse at my doctors office called and checked on the progress for me in April and found out I was rejected as a smoker.  I had since quit so she resent it and I got a call within 2 weeks for the orientation. That was June 13th. Met the surgeon on 24th.  Rest of appointments in late July and early August.  Maybe it was timing?  I know the wait times got longer for a year or two but they have just gotten more funding and it's going faster.  But I still think it depends on where.  Though that should only affect appointment dates, not approval.  I'm stumped.  I hope you hear soon.  Have you called the bariatric referral centre yourself?  Maybe they lost your paperwork?

My guess is that you were pushed through due to your initial rejection. August 2010 referal to Sept, Oct. 2011 surgery sounds accurate or even a bit quicker than normal.

A couple of years ago OHIP would refer patients to the states and they would have surgery within 3 - 6 months of referral. Line ups like the ones we have now did not accumulate.

Joanne, I agree with Cat, take it to the Ombudsman.