>>>8 weeks seems like a long wait time to me though:
>>>
>>>On average, admitted patients waited 7.9 weeks for treatment in March 2011, compared to eight weeks in March 2010. For outpatients it is just 3.7 weeks, compared to 3.8 weeks in 2010."
>>
>>I thinks sometimes those waiting times depend on how flexible the patients are. For example, a couple of years ago our daughter was having difficulties breathing, the doctor sent us to an specialist, who saw my daughter within the same week, but she needed surgery, so the Dr told us that we could wait 6 months to get her surgery in Vancouver or have her surgery in Surrey (part of the greater Vancouver) in less than two weeks. Of course we did not have any problems traveling 20 km or so to cut the waiting period, but I know of some people who wouldn't have done it for they think that VGH (Vancouver General Hospital) is better than the Surrey Memorial Hospital, I do not know which one is better or from where they got that idea, but the truth is that the attention in SMH was excellent.
>
>Your daughter was having trrouble breathing and you were okay waiting til "later in the week". My kid would've been in the emergency room 30 mins later....

Hmmm, that depends, if taken by ambulance, yes probably, if you drive up there, good chance that you'll have to wait several hours. Even in the case you're pointing to, our system probably is better. Our waiting times in ER are a lot shorter than in the US and more over are triaged in 4 or 5 stages on severity when you arrive.

There is a difference between an ongoing medical problem and an emergency.

In our system, unless it is an emergency, you cannot just go and contact a specialist, you'll have to get a referral from a GP (PCP) or other specialist. The GP system gives you a quick and easy access to a professional where otherwise a very expensive specialist (who does not know anything of your personal medical history, so you're left with filling in endless forms)