Frustrated with Ontario Wait Times !!

To each is own....i just don't believe things can't be improved.

 “We shall have no better conditions in the future if we are satisfied with all those which we have at present.”– Thomas Edison

I just dont understand why you cant be grateful you have this opportunity to begin with...and Im sure if you have complications it will be everyone elses problem but your own... thats the impression you are giving... like nothing they will do will please you any way . But in your words to each their own....  We all have to wait our turn plain and simple...as I said before if you are not happy go across the border and pay out of pocket, then you may appreciate the OHIP system. 

Not sure I understand your aggression, especially on a site that is supposed to be about supporting each other.  I am grateful for the opportunity for this operation as I hope it will keep me alive for another couple of years so I can see my kids graduate university, I just want the surgery as soon as possible. You don't know me so don't judge me and my reason for wanting the surgery sooner rather than later. I guess with you the only opinion one can have is the one that matches yours.

In your own word you say you dont know me so dont judge me... what did you do???? You judge me by saying I was aggressive and that my opinion is the only one that matters. I was simply stating that I didnt understand your point of view not that you were not entitled to it... Just like I am entitled to mine. This sight is not just for support, it is for many things so and even if you are looking for support I am still open to give my opinion weather it be positive or negative in your opinion. We are all different and do not think alike if we did this world would be pretty boring.

I agree with the problems with OHIP, for example I went anemic and required two blood transfusions and the cause of the problem hasn't really been addressed because it takes over a year in my town to see a gynecologist, god knows how long it would take to get a hysterectomy, so I had to travel to another town just to get in faster to see a specialist. But as the for surgery wait time, I waited 18 months till I was offered a date and I was frustrated at times with the wait but also researched it to death and came to the conclusion that it is not for me right now. And I have 3 co-morbidities but Im going to delay surgery to see if I can make the changes on my own. But that's just my decision, everyone is different and I see so many success stories that are very inspiring :)

I should add my referral went in a year before l started the. 8 month journey through the steps from orientation to surgeru

Sometimes the wait can be longer for people with co-morbidities due to the fact that they need to ensure that you are able to have the surgery. Also the wait time is so that you can prepare yourself mentally and physically. The bariatric clinic wants to make sure that people arent looking at this surgery as a quick fix, but a lifelong alteration.

I do know that you can request out of province surgery, some have had it done out of michigan. You could ask them about that. Also if you can afford the surgery without coverage then you can pay for it in the states, and Mexico is cheaper. Unfortunately with free health care, comes wait times.

You should go check out the other boards for other provinces, and the states. We have it very well off actually.

Maybe you should check out how long people in Ontario wait for hip replacements, MRI's, etc. This is a preventative surgery and won't ever be more important then cancer treatments, etc.

Don't give up hope, sometimes the times are approximate.  I had my referral last year in January, my orientation in March, appointments throughout the year and my surgery was booked for January of this year but I changed it to February.  My doctor first told me it would probably take 2 years from referral to surgery but mine went quicker - I went through Toronto Western Hospital. When my doctor first recommended this a few years it would have cost me 10's of thousands of dollars so I said no, I don't have that kind of money, but when I had the chance now that it is paid for I was ready to go forward.  Please give it time and like I said earlier, don't give up hope, wait it out and it will all be worth it. 

I share your frustration.  I was cleared by most in early Dec and told to expect a date in March.  My date is Sept 30th, about 6 months later than expected.  I was then told I would get a date in June/July but that hasn't happened.  I was told the problem was that they didn't schedule enough surgeries by the end of the last fiscal year (March), and as a result, lost funding for this fiscal funding.  They claim they cannot use any allotted OR time for bariatrics.  My frustration was seeing some slide through with dates over the last month or two, who were only referred in 2014 and weigh about 100lbs less than I do.  Not sure how fair the scheduling process is.  I spent months researching before submitting a referral, so feel I'm ready to go.  Exercising patience is not always easy, but doing my best!  Hopefully funding will bump us all a little earlier.  Good luck!