Orthopaedic surgeons are calling for “urgent action” to address wait times for hip and knee surgeries and they’re calling for a dedicated centre to cut down on wait times.
Surgeons in the health authority’s eastern urban zone say some 2,800 patients are currently on the wait list for hip and knee surgery, and there are concerns that that number could rise to 6,100 by 2030.
The surgeons say the wait time for patients to see a surgeon is about 18 months, while the average wait time for surgery is more than two years.
That means the total wait time from referral to surgery is closing in on four years for patients living with pain and disability.
(File Photo from 2023: Dr. Will Moores with former Premier Andrew Furey.)
Chief of Orthopaedics for the Eastern Urban Zone Dr. William Moores says the system in the metro region has a maximum capacity of approximately 1,000 joint replacement surgeries a year.
He says rather than asking orthopaedic patients to fit into a system designed around competing hospital priorities, consideration must be given to designing a system around the orthopaedic patient.
Surgeons are proposing that government work with them to develop an outside-the-hospital solution for hip and knee replacement surgeries, and are seeking a six-month pilot involving 200 arthroplasty procedures.
Dr. Moores says the pilot will allow officials to scale a model for a purpose-built orthopaedic surgical centre capable of performing 2,000 joint replacement procedures a year, with a targeted opening date for 2027.
Premier Tony Wakeham (VOCM News)
Premier says Access to Long-term Care Beds Could Help Alleviate Wait Times
Premier Tony Wakeham admits that the current wait times for hip and knee surgeries are not acceptable.
He says they need to get a good understanding of what’s causing the backlog, but acknowledges that access to long-term care beds is a contributing factor.
“A lot of times surgeries are held up, not because the surgery can’t be done, it’s because we have no acute care beds. On any given day there’s almost 300 people…in our acute care beds (who) really are waiting on long-term care beds.” He says that’s why government is investing in long term care beds.
