In 2024, nearly half a million Canadians departed from emergency rooms without seeing a physician, as revealed by an analysis conducted by CBC’s Marketplace.
The number is expected to be significantly higher due to B.C. and Quebec reporting these statistics according to the fiscal year, which includes parts of 2025.
Data gathered from most provinces and territories indicate that Prince Edward Island experienced the highest exit rate, with approximately 14 percent of individuals leaving before being treated.
Manitoba followed with a close second, at around 13 percent, while New Brunswick ranked third with approximately 12 percent. Ontario reported the lowest rate, at about five percent.
Furthermore, the data indicates a rising trend since 2019, when typically less than 10 percent of people would leave before consulting with a doctor.
In regions such as Newfoundland and Labrador, the number of individuals who left has nearly doubled since 2019, with over 35,000 people exiting in the Atlantic province in 2024.
Marketplace based its analysis on data acquired through freedom of information requests in collaboration with the Montreal Economic Institute.
Dr. Fraser MacKay, an emergency physician in New Brunswick and a board member of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), attributes this issue to prolonged wait times in emergency departments.
“It’s uncommon for a shift to conclude without encountering a patient who was there yesterday or prior, unable to endure the wait, and has now returned even sicker,” he remarked.
Marketplace also discovered that the waiting time to initially see a doctor, as well as the overall duration spent in the ER, is increasing across the country.
- Cross Country Checkup is asking: What’s your ER wait time story? What impact is it having on your health? Leave your comment here and we may read it or call you back for our show this Sunday!
MacKay and others point out that the underlying issues are multifaceted, involving staff shortages, a scarcity of family doctors, and “boarded patients”—individuals who have been admitted elsewhere in the hospital but are stranded in the emergency department awaiting a bed.
“We have been quite clear for many years: we understand these challenges, and we see them worsening,” MacKay stated.
‘It makes me feel like our system is broken’
In New Brunswick, where MacKay practices, the data shows that nearly 60,000 individuals left the emergency department.
Susan Gordon, 51, expressed regret over her decision to leave this summer.
She arrived at Moncton Hospital via ambulance in June, suffering from severe stomach pain and persistent vomiting. However, after more than three hours in a “chaotic” waiting area, she decided to leave.
“Looking back, I realize I jeopardized my health,” she reflected.
Susan Gordon, 51, left the Moncton Hospital emergency department after a lengthy wait. (David MacIntosh/CBC)
The pain persisted and worsened, leading to her collapse and a return to the emergency department in September, where she underwent an urgent appendectomy.
“It gives me the impression that our system is broken,” Gordon stated.
Horizon Health, which operates Moncton Hospital, issued a statement expressing its desire for patients to remain until seen and attributing the long wait times to boarded patients waiting for beds in over-capacity facilities. The organization also mentioned ongoing efforts to address these pressing issues.
New Brunswick’s Health Minister John Dornan stated that the province is implementing measures to enhance patient flow and improve access in order to alleviate pressure on emergency departments.
In P.E.I., which has the highest percentage of individuals leaving without seeing a doctor, efforts are being made to bolster hospital staffing and connect more residents with family physicians, nurse practitioners, and virtual care, according to a statement from Health PEI to Marketplace.
Manitoba, with the second-highest percentage, is prioritizing the expansion of hospital beds and healthcare personnel, as stated by a representative for the province’s health minister. The province has reportedly added over 320 fully staffed and funded hospital beds and welcomed an additional 3,400 healthcare workers since October 2023.
Patients who endure long wait times suffer, too
Those who endure long waits in emergency departments can also face dire situations.
In 2024, Finlay van der Werken’s parents took him to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) when the 16-year-old experienced severe abdominal pain.
“I was overwhelmed with fear, desperate for Finlay to be seen immediately,” his mother, Hazel, recounted.
Finlay van der Werken, 16, passed away on Feb. 9, 2024. His parents believe his death was preventable. (Submitted by Hazel and GJ van der Werken)
As per the family’s statement of claim against the Halton Healthcare network, a nurse categorized Finlay’s condition as Level 2 on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, indicating it was “emergent.” Guidelines stipulate that a doctor should have evaluated him within 15 minutes.
However, he waited for eight hours and 22 minutes. His mother claims she repeatedly urged the staff to attend to him more promptly while he writhed in pain.
The family’s statement of claim reveals that Finlay’s condition worsened each time staff recorded his vital signs.
By that point, Finlay had developed sepsis as a reaction to pneumonia. He suffered cardiac arrest and began experiencing organ failure. Hazel and her husband, G.J., held onto hope for a miracle but came to realize their son would not survive.
“There’s little solace in knowing we told our children we love them every day. We know Finlay felt that,” G.J. van der Werken said. “But what can you say in those final moments?”
G.J. and Hazel van der Werken describe the night they rushed their son Finlay to the hospital in 2024.
The family is pursuing legal action against the hospital network, claiming Finlay’s death could have been avoided if he had been seen sooner. Halton Healthcare, in its defense, denies any negligence.
Dr. Cheryl Williams, the executive vice-president of clinical operations and chief nursing executive at Halton Healthcare, stated in an email to Marketplace that the network is implementing “several key initiatives” to decrease wait times, including enhancing scheduling to boost doctor availability during peak patient times.
She further noted that the time taken to initially see a doctor at OTMH has reduced by over 32 percent in the last eight months.
Family pushes for change after son’s death
Alongside their lawsuit against Halton Healthcare, the van der Werken family is advocating for Ontario to enact Finlay’s Law, which proposes various reforms, including establishing maximum wait times for children in emergency rooms. As of November 18, their online petition on Change.org had amassed nearly 30,000 signatures.
After several attempts, Hazel and G.J. met privately with Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones in late October. They reported that Jones listened to their concerns seriously and assured them she would communicate with her partners regarding the suggested changes. However, they remain unsatisfied.
Jones declined to provide an interview with Marketplace.
The Toronto hospital let Marketplace shadow its chief of emergency medicine for a shift to show the daily reality for patients and staff in the emergency department as it tries to reduce long wait times.
A ministry spokesperson, Ema Popovic, stated that the province has made “record investments” in healthcare over the past three years, which includes $44 million aimed at addressing ER wait times.
She added that efforts are underway to link everyone with a family doctor by 2029 and allow pharmacists to treat “common ailments.” However, the statement did not clarify how the $44 million will be allocated or how the issue of boarded patients will be addressed.
Popovic acknowledged that “there is more work to be done.”
Hazel and G.J. van der Werken are determined to continue their fight to honor Finlay and to protect others.
“He was an incredible child,” Hazel stated. “Now it is our responsibility to amplify his voice. To effect change.”
