Media alert - "10 years of waiting" - WTA highlights wait times in medical system on Parliament Hill

OTTAWA, Sept. 17, 2014 /CNW/ - On September 23, the Wait Time Alliance (WTA) will release the results of a national poll on how wait times affect Canadians. In addition to the poll, the WTA will release a position paper containing recommendations on the federal government's role in reducing wait times.

2014 marks the end of the 10-year Health Accord in which federal, provincial and territorial governments committed to reducing wait times in five initial areas. But medical wait times remain as much of an issue today as they were in 2004. The expiry of the Accord brings an opportunity to re-visit the federal government's crucial role in health care.

Date and time:	Sept. 23, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. (EDT)
Speakers:	Dr. Chris Simpson, WTA Chair Dr. Suzane Renaud, French spokesperson
Location:	Charles Lynch Press Theatre (room 130-S Centre Block), Ottawa

Members of the media may attend the media briefing on site or participate by teleconference. Telephone lines will open at 10:30 a.m. and reporters can register on the call 15 minutes prior. Reporters dialing in will be able to ask questions by telephone.

Dial-in number:  416-695-7806 / 866-696-5910 (code: 1936807)
Instant replay:   905-694-9451 / 800-408-3053 (code: 5321825)

The poll will be posted to the Wait Time Alliance website (www.waittimealliance.ca) at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2014.

The Wait Time Alliance (WTA) is a partnership comprised of the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine, the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons, the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology, the Canadian Association of Radiologists, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, the Canadian Geriatrics Society, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, the Canadian Orthopaedic Association, the Canadian Psychiatric Association, the Canadian Rheumatology Association, the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the Society of Obstetricians, Gynaecologists of Canada and a Patient Advisor.

SOURCE: Wait Time Alliance

Lucie Boileau, Canadian Medical Association, Telephone : [phone] ext. 1266, Cell.: 613 447-0866, [email protected]