Measuring Wait Times for Cancer Surgeries

Priority levels and target times for cancer surgeries in Ontario are set by surgeons, specialists and health care administrators across the province, based on clinical evidence, to guide treatment decisions and to improve patient access and outcomes.

Wait times for cancer surgeries in Ontario are measured and reported for two periods. (Data excludes patients who did not have the surgery after their first appointment with a surgeon.)

Time to patient's first cancer surgical appointment: How long patients waited from a surgeon or central intake office receiving the referral from the patient's doctor, to the patient's first appointment with the surgeon.

Time from decision to having cancer surgery: How long patients waited from deciding on surgery with the surgeon, to having the surgery.

Priority level for the patient's condition	Clinical description	Target time* to patient's first cancer surgical appointment	Target time** from decision to having cancer surgery
Priority 1	Immediate – emergency surgery required	The patient sees surgeon within 24 hours of referral received	The patient has the surgery within 24 hours of decision
Priority 2	Patients diagnosed with highly aggressive malignancies	Patient sees surgeon within 10 days of the referral received	Patient has the surgery within 14 days of decision
Priority 3	Patients with known or suspected invasive cancer that do not meet the criteria of Priority 2 or Priority 4	Patient sees surgeon within 21 days of referral received	Patient has the surgery within 28 days of decision
Priority 4	Patients diagnosed with indolent malignancies	Patient sees surgeon within 35 days of the referral received	Patient has the surgery within 84 days of decision

*The target time within which 9 out of 10 patients are seen.

**The target time within which 9 out of 10 patients are treated.

See what this means for patients

Measurement Numbers Used for Cancer Surgery Wait Times

Data for the wait times for cancer surgeries is reported using these measurement numbers:

The average number of days patients waited; a lower number is better.
The percentage of cancer patients seen, or treated, within the target time; a higher percentage is better.