A report by Ontario’s health quality adviser says most patients at Ontario hospital emergency wards are not having to wait as long these days to see a doctor.

Health Quality Ontario researchers say there has been a 16 per cent drop in the average amount of time nine out of 10 patients waited in emergency to see a doctor, from 3.6 to 3 hours.

They also found a 10 per cent drop over the past seven years in the amount of time 90 per cent of patients spent in the ER.

The report released Tuesday also says the data indicates that residents living in Ontario cities spent longer in emergency and waited longer to see a doctor than people living in more rural areas. And, many patients who needed to be admitted to hospital had to wait a long time in emergency for a bed.

The findings are based on data from the provincial health ministry and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences as well as accounts from patients and caregivers.

Health Quality Ontario President and CEO Doctor Jushua Tepper will have more to say about this report on Zoomer Radio’s Fight Back with Libby Znaimer at 12:30 today.