What's new Kids wait for surgery too (January 2010) Unfinished business: report card on wait times in Canada (June 2009) Technical backgrounder for the 2009 Wait Time Alliance report card (June 2009) National physician diary study 2009: wait time results by national specialty society (June 2009) Click image for 2009 report

Where do we stand now on wait times for medical procedures in five priority areas, many years after solemn commitments were made by our governments? The Wait Time Alliance reports on the progress to date in achieving benchmarks established in the 2004 First Ministers' 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care. The benchmarks cover:

• cancer
• cardiac care
• diagnostic imaging
• joint replacement
• sight restoration

A need to expand

Looking beyond the 2004 First Ministers' health accord, the WTA has expanded its membership beyond the original 5 key areas and invited other specialty societies with established benchmarks or performance goals to join.

The specialty areas now include:

• anesthesiology
• emergency care
• gastrointestinal
• obstetrics and gynaecology
• psychiatry
• plastic surgery

The Wait Time Alliance's recommendations encompass the need for governments to include other medical procedures in other specialty areas.