Clinic wait times (Toronto/Hamilton)

I finally had my referral sent in and was told I'd be going through TWH. Someone on a WLS group said she had orientation there today and was told the wait time is 1.5-2 years currently.

I know it's a possibility to switch clinics before orientation.

Does anyone know what the approximate wait times are at the other Toronto clinics or even Hamilton?

Hey Maisie,

I'm currently going through the Hamilton program so I only know info for that clinic. My dr sent in my referral in November 2017 and I went for orientation the beginning of January. I'm just about at the end of the program and am waiting for my surgery date which should be given to me any day now. The timeline isn't really set in stone because you could have more appointments than others. With that in mind, I did have to see the dietician a few times. My surgery should be by late December or early January. So a year. Not bad at all in my opinion.

Good luck on your journey,

Kimberly

Hey,

I had my orientation at Humber River on Friday and they told us it would be approximately 10-12 months until surgery.

Moving to Humber sounds like a great move. Mind you, at TWH they also told us it would be 12 months from orientation. I get the impression that they are moving as fast as they can, but the demands are high and the resources are limited.

Also there have been provincial cuts to bariatric program funding, and it seems like the hospitals are doing their best navigating the constraints that have been put on them. The fact that they have reduced the support program from 5 years to 1 year, is just one example of that.

I've been really happy at TWH - the whole team has been so supportive and I know they are doing their best. I've been lucky to pick up some cancellations along the way to expedite the process.

I think no matter where you are, this process calls on a lot of patience.

Good luck all!

Yes, the cut backs were huge. I was shocked that there is only a one year follow up now. A lot of ppl told me that I would get appointments at the orientation but that was not the case. They told us it would be at least another 4 months before we heard from them with our first appointments. Like you said, I am sure they are trying their best.

Whoa... at first they had cut it down to 2 years. Now it's 1? That's horrible!

I got referred summer 2017. I had my orientation in November 2017. I'm not having surgery until January 4, 2019. So basically 18 months from referral.

I was really lucky. I came through the Wharton Clinic. I thought it would be a year to a year and a half, but I had surgery 7 months after being referred.

I was referred May 31/17 and had surgery Jan 16/18.

I called all the time for cancellations. I booked multiple tests on one day. I worked really hard to make sure that I did everything they asked. I also followed up on all my results. If it hadn't been sent, I showed up, got a hard copy and delivered it to the clinic. I left nothing to chance.

I advocated for myself. I showed up at the booking desk to book my surgery when I went a month without hearing from them. I was pretty much in everyone's face.

If you keep on top of it and get hands on, you will probably be able to get to surgery sooner than you think.

Yes! I couldn't agree more. I followed your advice as well as the advice of others...being an advocate for myself and now 6 months later just waiting on a surgery date.

That was one of the first things I remembered when I joined this forum and will never forget in life....be an advocate for yourself.

I went through Wharton (Burlington) and surgery at St. Joe's in Hamilton. All in all, I was 10 months from start to finish. If you can keep your schedule relatively open where you can accommodate last minute cancellations (if you contact the centre), you will move much quicker through the process.

*hugs to all*