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CIHI Report Links Canada’s Soaring ER Waits to Long‑Term Care and Home‑Care Shortages

Shortages in long‑term care, home supports and primary care are tying up hospital beds and driving longer emergency waits with calls for system‑wide capacity expansion.

The entrance to the emergency department at Peter Lougheed hospital is pictured in, Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
An emergency department sign is pictured on Thursday, March 20, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A B.C. Ambulance Service paramedic works outside the emergency department at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. One in 10 Canadians admitted to hospital during the 2024-2025 fiscal year spent more than 48 hours waiting in the emergency department, according to a Thursday report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Overview

  • The Canadian Institute for Health Information released the national analysis Thursday showing 1.5 million emergency visits in 2024–25 involved waits longer than 14 hours, a 28 percent rise from 2018–19.
  • CIHI found that about one in 10 admitted patients waited more than 48 hours in emergency departments and that alternate‑level‑of‑care patients who no longer need acute treatment had a median hospital stay of roughly 24 days.
  • The report attributes longer waits to an older, more medically complex patient mix and to bottlenecks caused when patients cannot be discharged because long‑term care beds or home supports are unavailable.
  • Front‑line doctors and groups warned the findings reflect growing patient harm, citing higher rates of people leaving before treatment and deaths linked to prolonged boarding in emergency departments.
  • CIHI and clinicians say solutions must extend beyond emergency departments to expand long‑term care, home care, primary care access and inpatient capacity to free beds and reduce ER backlog.