Most Canadians don’t think healthcare systems can improve soon, poll reveals

Most Canadians don’t think the healthcare system in their province is likely to improve, a new poll revealed.

 

A year after the federal government offered a health accord of $196 billion to provinces aimed at increasing health funding and dealing with acute shortage of health-care workers, a Leger survey has revealed that the majority of people have lost hope in any improvement in the healthcare system.

 

At least 70 per cent of respondents have said that they don’t think they will be able to get adequate healthcare in their province when in need.

 

Governments across the country are growing increasingly concerned with the shortage of appropriate healthcare. 

 

Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories have already moved to sign one-on-one deals with the federal government to ramp up the funding and work on specific shortcomings.

 

While an overwhelming majority does not think healthcare systems can improve in near future, at least 17 per cent of people have shown optimism and say that the system can improve in next two years.

 

Leger’s survey involved 1,536 web participants in Canada and therefore, it has no margin of error. 

 

Concerns are high among residents of Atlantic Canada, with 87 per cent worried about their ability to receive necessary healthcare. In Atlantic Canada and Quebec, 66 per cent and 51 per cent of people, respectively, rated their health systems as poor or very poor. This contrasts with the more positive perceptions in Alberta and British Columbia, where 46 per cent and 40 per cent of respondents, respectively, viewed their healthcare systems as good.

 

The Leger survey about Canada's healthcare systems revealed that 66 per cent of respondents associate them with "long waits," 42 per cent with "stress," and 40 per cent see them as "failing." The shortage of healthcare workers was a key concern, with 67 per cent attributing it to poor working conditions and long hours. Additionally, 40 per cent believed funding cuts and another 40 per cent attributed retirements during the COVID-19 pandemic as underlying causes of the shortages.