Nick Stavropoulos has released an annual report that focuses on 12 value-for-money audits. He has found hospitals continue to struggle with shortages of nurses and doctors and that patients are waiting an average of two hours before a physician assessment and there's a 24-hour wait for an in-patient. Stavropoulos says one in five patients who visited the province's emergency departments were only there because they did not have a family doctor. He also says hospitals are becoming more reliant on nursing agencies to fill gaps, which comes at a significantly higher cost.

<p>Nick Stavropoulos has released an annual report that focuses on 12 value-for-money audits. He has found hospitals continue to struggle with shortages of nurses and doctors and that patients are waiting an average of two hours before a physician assessment and there's a 24-hour wait for an in-patient. Stavropoulos says one in five patients who visited the province's emergency departments were only there because they did not have a family doctor. He also says hospitals are becoming more reliant on nursing agencies to fill gaps, which comes at a significantly higher cost.</p>

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