title: Wait times for head and neck cancer patients in the Maritime provinces.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess wait times for surgery and radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients from the Maritime provinces.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review of 275 Maritime head and neck cancer patients treated between 2007 and 2009 by the tertiary Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Service at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre (QEII HSC) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was conducted to assess surgical and radiotherapy wait times.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean wait time from referral to assessment by a head and neck surgeon was 15 days. The mean wait time from the initial consultation with a head and neck surgeon to surgery was 33 days, with 42% waiting more than 28 days and 18% waiting more than 42 days for surgery. The mean wait time from surgery to postoperative radiotherapy was 74 days, with 94% of patients waiting more than 42 days. The mean wait time from referral to Radiation Oncology to assessment by a radiation oncologist was 10 days. The mean wait time from ready to treat to radiotherapy was 21 days, with 74% of patients waiting more than 14 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maritime head and neck cancer patients wait longer than established guidelines for both surgery and radiotherapy and may be at increased risk for negative outcomes because of delayed treatment.
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS. jm897232@dal.ca
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Belyea
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rigby
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jaggi
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trites
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mark Taylor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009674:Nova Scotia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014850:Waiting Lists