ANALYSIS OF WAITING TIMES FOR
PATIENTS ON THE WAITLIST FOR
ARTERIAL CORONARY BYPASS SURGERY
AT THE TORONTO HOSPITAL

Definitions:

Median is the number in the middle of a set of numbers; that is, half the numbers have values that are greater than the median and half have values that are less.

Standard Deviation: The standard deviation is a measure of how widely values are dispersed from the average value (the mean).

Average is the arithmetic mean of the wait times.

URS is an urgency rating score, Urgent less than 4, Semi-urgent is 4 to 5 and Elective is more than 5

June, 1996   Urgent Semi-urgent Elective  No URS  All Patients Number of Patients  3 22 162 7 194 % Total Patients  2% 11% 84% 4% 100% Median Wait (Days)  4 39 74 4 68 Average Wait (Days) 10 70 108 8 98  Standard Deviations 14 79 90 8 90

July, 1996   Urgent Semi-urgent Elective  No URS  All Patients Number of Patients  8 17 144 14 183 % Total Patients  4% 9% 79% 8% 100% Median Wait (Days)  5 75 97 30 84 Average Wait (Days)  11 109 115 33 90  Standard Deviations  19 89 92 9 61

August, 1996   Urgent Semi-urgent Elective  No URS  All Patients Number of Patients  7 15 147 13 182 % Total Patients  4% 8% 81% 7% 100% Median Wait (Days)  4 94 74 64 70 Average Wait (Days)  34 115 96 64 93  Standard Deviations  43 98 85 8 83

The number of completed cardiac surgery cases for adult Ontario residents in the first seven months of the fiscal year (April October) was 9% greater than for the same peroid a year ago. The waiting list in October was22% greater than a year ago.

The median waiting times for patients who had surgery in August, September or October were

• 3 days for urgent patients (29% of patients who had surgery)
• 10 days for semi- urgent patients (20% of patients who had surgery)
• 74 days for elective patients (50% of patients who had surgery)
• 16 days for all patients (including patients with no urgency rating)

In October, the percentages of patients who had surgery within their maximum recommended waiting time were:

• 75% of urgent patients
• 74% of semi- urgent patients
• 58% of elective patients

Catheterization and angioplasty cases completed in the first seven months of the year were 10% and 16% ahead of the previous year, respectivfely. The number of patients waiting for caths in October was 22% greater than a year ago and 7% greater for angioplasty.

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