Patient Deaths While Awaiting Surgery up by 49% Year-Over-Year in Ontario: Government Data

A man walks past the emergency department of the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C., on April 3, 2020. Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press

New data from Ontario Health indicates that the number of patients who died waiting for surgery in 2022–2023 is up 49 percent from 2021–2022.

SecondStreet.org, a non-profit think tank, revealed Aug. 15 that almost 2,100 patients died while awaiting surgery, based on information gleaned from an access to information request.