A recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reveals a troubling trend in Canada’s emergency departments, with one in ten patients experiencing wait times exceeding 14 hours for care. This situation is exacerbated for those requiring hospital admission, where waits have soared to more than three times the average. The findings, based on data from 2024 and 2025, highlight systemic issues within the healthcare framework, including access to primary care, hospital bed shortages, and an increasingly complex patient demographic.
Rising Wait Times in Emergency Departments
According to CIHI, approximately 1.5 million patients—10 per cent of total visits—waited over 14 hours in emergency departments (EDs) during the specified period. This represents a staggering 28 per cent increase compared to figures from 2018-19. Furthermore, about 12 per cent of ED visits from April 2024 to March 2025 resulted in hospital admissions, with one in ten of these patients spending more than two days in the emergency department, marking a 33 per cent increase from previous years.
Dr. Michael Herman, an emergency physician based in Ottawa, articulated the gravity of these statistics. “What it’s showing us is that we have a sicker population,” he stated, adding that “more people are coming to us, they have less access to supports in the community, and they’re staying in our emergency departments longer.” This stark reality reflects a healthcare system under intense pressure.
Contributing Factors to Overcrowding
The report details a multitude of factors contributing to the overcrowding crisis in emergency departments across Canada. Limited access to primary and long-term care services, coupled with a shortage of hospital beds, creates a bottleneck that forces patients into emergency settings. The complexity of the patient population has also increased, with older individuals and those with multiple health issues frequenting EDs at higher rates.
Seasonal spikes further complicate the situation, as temporary closures of emergency departments in rural areas occur during summer months due to healthcare workers taking much-needed leave. Earlier this year, Alberta’s medical community, alongside the provincial New Democratic Party, urged the government to declare a formal emergency regarding ED overcrowding following the tragic death of Prashant Sreekumar. Mr. Sreekumar succumbed to cardiac arrest after enduring an eight-hour wait in an Edmonton emergency department.
The CIHI report also highlighted concerning statistics: 0.1 per cent of patients died while waiting in an ED, and 7.7 per cent left without being seen by a physician. With approximately 16.1 million ED visits reported, accounting for about 89 per cent of all visits across Canada, the implications are profound. Notably, two-thirds of these visits were classified as high-acuity cases, necessitating immediate medical attention.
Vulnerable Populations and Lethal Wait Times
The report reveals that older patients face the most severe challenges, often waiting longer than younger individuals for inpatient placement. These patients frequently have coexisting health issues or specific requirements that delay their transfer to appropriate care settings. Dr. Herman expressed concern over this finding, stating, “People over 75 have an increased risk of mortality if they spend even one night in an ED.” He referenced a 2022 study from the United Kingdom, which indicated that for every 82 patients kept waiting for a bed for six to eight hours, one additional death occurs.
This reality underscores the urgent need for systemic reforms. Dr. Herman lamented the lack of preparation for the impacts of an aging population, emphasising that insufficient investments in primary, long-term, and community care have left many with no option but to seek help in emergency departments.
Addressing the Crisis: Systemic Solutions Required
The report also highlighted that patients admitted from emergency departments typically have a median discharge time of four days; however, eight per cent were classified as alternative level of care (ALC) patients—individuals who no longer require hospital services but occupy beds until they can be transferred elsewhere. ALC patients had an alarming median stay of 24 days, further straining bed availability for those in urgent need of care.
Cheryl Chui, CIHI’s director of health system analytics, stressed that improving wait times in emergency departments necessitates a holistic approach to the healthcare system. “If you just focus on ED wait times, then that tends to be where people sort of target the solution. But what we’re trying to illustrate with this report is that, actually, everything is interconnected,” she explained.
Why it Matters
The findings of this report serve as a clarion call for urgent action within Canada’s healthcare system. The alarming rise in emergency department wait times not only reflects the immediate crisis of overcrowding but also signifies deeper systemic issues that require addressing. Vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly, face life-threatening delays that could be mitigated through improved access to primary and long-term care. As the country grapples with an aging demographic and increasing healthcare demands, the necessity for comprehensive reform has never been clearer. The lives of many depend on the proactive steps taken today to ensure a more resilient and responsive healthcare system for tomorrow.