When it comes to health care, “Canada shows largely disappointing performance compared to other high-income countries,” says a report by the Health Council of Canada, an independent national agency. Canada has a publicly funded, universal health care system.
Care varies across Canada
There is considerable variation in in the care among the different provinces, notes the report. In Canada, health care comes under the jurisdiction of the provincial and territorial governments, although funding from the federal government does set out some conditions.
Canada ranks last among 11 OECD countries in terms of how quickly people can see their family doctors. Between three and 15 per cent of Canadians do not have a regular doctor or clinic where they go for care.
After-hours access difficult
Getting access to medical care after regular hours is difficult for 62 per cent of people and they may end up using hospital emergency rooms.
The figures were culled from the 2013 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of the General Public
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