OMA Brings Awareness to Wait Times Crisis in New Campaign

"Not a Second Longer" is a call to action to fight poor government decision-making.

TORONTO, March 19, 2018 /CNW/ - Ontario's doctors are launching an advertising campaign highlighting the crisis in patient wait times ahead of the June provincial election.

"Not a Second Longer," (notasecondlonger.ca) the radio and digital campaign which begins on March 19^th, demonstrates the repercussions of the poor decisions made by Ontario's provincial government. Ontario Medical Association President Dr. Shawn Whatley says that health care should be front and centre this spring, and for many voters across the province, it will be their number one issue.

"People are fed up" said Dr. Whatley, "with waiting intolerable amounts of time for procedures like hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery. It's unacceptable."

"Just last week, the Financial Accountability Office found that health care spending is not keeping pace with our aging population," Dr. Whatley continued. "We've been saying this for years; the government just refuses to act." Dr. Whatley says that poor government decision-making and an unwillingness to seek input from doctors exacerbates the problem. 

"This government refuses to consult with doctors and it's damaging our healthcare system," concluded Dr. Whatley. "Whoever forms government on June 7^th should have a far more collaborative approach with health care professionals to show they care about solving this problem. Without a collaborative wait time strategy, our healthcare system will continue to erode."

The OMA has run ad campaigns before (In Sickness and in Health) highlighting the importance of doctors and their vital role in improving health care, but with the provincial election only three months away, Dr. Whatley says it's the appropriate time to speak directly to government and to patients.

ABOUT THE OMA: Representative of Ontario's physicians, we advocate for the well-being of our members, the health of Ontarians, and provide leadership for an accessible, sustainable, high quality health-care system.  The OMA provides effective representation on behalf of more than 40,000 physicians, residents and medical students.

SOURCE Ontario Medical Association