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Accessing specialized health services a struggle for 500,000 seniors: StatCan

Referrals and wait times among the commonly reported problems
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(Black Press Media file photo)

A new Statistics Canada report says half a million seniors had trouble getting specialized care.

StatCan estimated more than 4.5 million people 65 and older visited medical specialists, got non-emergency tests or had non-emergency surgeries in 2019 and 2020.

More than 15 per cent of the seniors reported having difficulty while they were trying to access those services.

Common barriers included trouble getting a referral, difficulty getting an appointment, long wait times and services not being available at the time they were needed.

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