The average waiting times for patients admitted to Ontario hospitals through emergency rooms reached record levels in September. According to Health Quality Ontario (HQO) data, patients spent an average of 21.3 hours in the emergency room waiting to be admitted. This is an increase from 20.7 hours in August and 20.8 hours in July. It also represents the highest average hospital admission wait time from emergency departments in Ontario over the past year, according to HQO.

Additionally, wait times significantly decrease for patients who do not require admission. HQO data showed that about 89 percent of patients with a high urgent condition who were not admitted to the hospital completed their emergency visits within eight hours.

The new data also come months after the government first launched its new plan to stabilize the healthcare system post-pandemic. The plan, announced in August, included investment in private clinic surgeries, a pledge to add up to 6,000 new healthcare workers, and Bill 7 – legislation allowing hospitals to move patients waiting for long-term care placement at home to a non-chosen home or serve them with daily fees of $400. The idea was to free up hospital beds for patients who need urgent and critical care more.

In the same month, a leaked Ontario health report showed that, on average, just under 884 patients were waiting for a hospital bed daily at 8 a.m., representing a 53 percent increase compared to August 2021.

Furthermore, the report reviewed annual historical data from executives and emergency department heads and was released to journalists in October, prompting Ontario Liberals to call on Doug Ford's government to "explain its mismanagement of the healthcare system." Liberals are expected to hold a press conference at 10 a.m. about what they call "the escalating crisis in our healthcare system."