Nearly 500,000 Canadians left ERs before getting to a doctor last year, data shows

According to CBC’s data analysis, nearly half a million Canadians in 2024 will leave the emergency department before being seen by a doctor. Market,

And because BC and Quebec report these figures based on the fiscal calendar (and also include parts of 2025), the number is likely much higher.

Data for 2024 collected from most provinces and territories show that Prince Edward Island had the highest percentage of people leaving, about 14 per cent.

Manitoba’s percentage was the second highest at approximately 13 percent and New Brunswick’s percentage was the third highest at approximately 12 percent. Ontario had the lowest percentage, about five per cent.

The data also shows that this trend has increased since 2019, when in most cases, less than 10 percent of people were opting out before seeing a physician.

In some places like Newfoundland and Labrador, the number of people leaving has nearly doubled since 2019, with more than 35,000 people moving out in the Maritime province in 2024.

MarketThe analysis is based on data Montreal Economic Institute Obtained through freedom of information requests.

Dr. Fraser MacKay, an emergency physician in New Brunswick and board director of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), says this is a side effect of longer wait times in emergency departments.

“It’s rare that there will be a shift where one of the patients I see isn’t someone who was there yesterday or the day before and couldn’t wait and left. And now they’ve come back and now they’re much, much sicker,” he said.

MarketThe analysis also shows that the amount of time people spend waiting to see a doctor first and their total time in the ER is increasing from coast to coast.

Mackey and others say the root causes of the problem are complex, and include understaffing, a shortage of family doctors, and “boarded patients” — that is, people who have been admitted to a different part of the hospital but are stuck in the emergency department waiting for a bed to open up.

“We’ve been very clear for many years: We know these problems, we know they’re getting worse,” Mackey said.

‘It makes me feel like our system is broken’

According to statistics, in New Brunswick, where Mackey works, about 60,000 people moved out.

Suzanne Gordon, 51, said she regrets doing it this summer.

She was rushed to Moncton hospital by ambulance after experiencing severe stomach pain and repeated vomiting in June. But after spending more than three hours in a “disorganized” waiting room, she left.

“With what I know now, I put myself in danger,” she said.

The pain continued and intensified, until she collapsed and was returned to the emergency department in September, where she immediately had appendicitis surgery.

“It makes me feel like our system is broken,” Gordon said.

Horizon Health, which runs the Moncton hospital, said in a statement it does not want patients to leave before being seen and says the long wait times are a result of patients waiting for beds in over-capacity hospitals. It also said that it is trying to find solutions in these challenging circumstances.

New Brunswick Health Minister John Dornan said in a statement that the province is taking steps to improve patient flow and increase access to reduce pressure on emergency departments.

In PEI, which has the highest percentage of people leaving without seeing a doctor in the country, work is underway to increase hospital staffing and connect more people to family doctors, nurse practitioners and virtual care, Health PEI said in a statement. Market,

Manitoba, which had the second-highest percentage, is focusing its efforts on increasing hospital beds and health-care staff, according to a statement from a spokesperson for the province’s health minister. He said the province has added more than 320 fully staffed and funded hospital beds and an additional 3,400 health-care workers have joined the workforce through October 2023.

Patients who have to wait for a long time also face problems

Even people who are stuck in the emergency department for several hours can end up in terrible circumstances.

In 2024, Finley van der Worken’s parents took him to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) when the 16-year-old suffered excruciating stomach pain.

“I was just filled with fear and wanted Finley to be seen right away,” said his mother Hazel.

According to the family’s statement of claim against Halton Healthcare Network, a nurse examined Finlay at Level 2 on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, meaning his case was “emergent.” Guidelines say a doctor should have seen him within 15 minutes.

Instead, they waited for eight hours and 22 minutes. His mother says that while he was screaming in pain, she continued to plead with the staff to see him as soon as possible.

The statement of claim reveals that each time staff recorded Finley’s vital signs, his condition was worsening.

By then, Finlay had developed sepsis, his body’s response to pneumonia. He suffered cardiac arrest and his organs stopped functioning. Hazel and her husband JJ say they were hoping for a miracle, but realized their son would not survive.

GJ van der Worken said, “It gives us some comfort to know that we tell our children every day that we love them. We know that Finlay knew.” “But what can you say in those last moments?”

Look GJ and Hazel van der Verken tell about the night their 16-year-old son died:

The family is suing the hospital network, saying Finley’s death could have been prevented if a doctor had seen him sooner. In a statement of defence, Halton Healthcare denied negligence.

In a statement emailed to MarketDr. Cheryl Williams, executive vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing executive at Halton Healthcare, said the network is “moving forward on several important initiatives” to reduce wait times, including improving scheduling to increase doctor coverage when there are too many patients.

He also said the time taken to see a doctor for the first time at OTMH has reduced by more than 32 percent in the last eight months.

After son’s death, family is insisting on change

In addition to suing Halton Healthcare, the Van der Verken family wants Ontario to enact Finley’s Law, which advocates several changes, including setting maximum wait times for children in the ER. Their online petition on Change.org to enact Finlay’s law had nearly 30,000 signatures as of November 18.

After months of requesting, Hazel and GJ set up a private meeting with Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones in late October. She said Jones took her complaints seriously and said she would reach out to her partners and discuss proposed changes. But they are not satisfied.

Jones declined to give an interview market.

Look Inside Sunnybrook Hospital’s emergency department:

In a statement, ministry spokeswoman Emma Popovic said the province has made “record investments” in health care over the past three years, including $44 million to tackle ER wait times.

He also said the province is trying to connect everyone to a family doctor by 2029 and allow pharmacists to treat “common illnesses.” The statement did not specify how the $44 million is being spent or how it is addressing the issue of hospitalized patients.

Popovic also said that the ministry recognizes that “there is still more work to be done.”

Hazel and GJ van der Worken say they will continue to fight to honor Finley and protect others.

“He was a wonderful kid,” Hazel said. “And now it’s our job to use her voice. To change things.”