Too many people in Ontario are still waiting too long for the medical care they need, the Ontario Health Quality Council said Thursday in its 2010 annual report.

The council, an independent, arm’s-length agency, said progress had been made in reducing wait times for some surgeries and procedures, but others were still unacceptably long.

“When only 53 per cent of those urgent cancer cases are completed within the two-week target, when about one-quarter of people spend more time in the emergency department than is recommended and desirable, and when the wait time for a long-term care bed is three times what it was in 2005, then it is obvious that the system has some significant issues to address,” said council chair Lynn McLeod.

“In many areas of care too many people still wait too long.”

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