Cut the Wait Times.

Long waiting times, it seems, have become a defining element of the Canadian heath-care system. And nowhere is it worse than in orthopaedic surgery. According to a report released by the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute last month, there was a backlog of 130,000 Canadians stacked up for hip or knee replacements and other orthopaedic procedures last year, up 21 per cent from 2000. Patients wait an average of eight months for their operation, adds Dr. Robert Hollinshead, president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association. Cutting wait times would make a profound difference to the many Canadian patients and their families who struggle with protracted pain. But Ottawa and the provinces find themselves in a bind because of forced reductions in medical school enrolment, cost cuts that removed hospital beds, and a shortage of surgeons in small urban centres. Hollinshead wants benchmarks set to define maximum wait times. The notion has well-placed proponents, including Michael Decter, chairman of the Canadian Institute for Health Information and a leading candidate to head the new national health council.