More than 20,000 patients in Ottawa region waiting for surgeries as hospitals deal with COVID backlog
Pandemic pressures on Ontario's medical system has created a backlog of nearly 16 million medical procedures, leaving thousands of residents waiting for elective surgeries.
The Ottawa Hospital says more than 20,000 patients in the region are waiting for surgeries. Procedures such as orthopaedic, eye and other electives, that have been postponed, not cancelled, because of COVID.
At the Queensway Carleton Hospital, surgical teams have been working some nights and weekends to reduce their list of 2,316 people waiting for a procedure.
Arthur Rabinovitch requires an operation to his prostate and has been waiting for nearly a year.
"It is uncomfortable and it is frustrating," says Rabinovitch. "It just gets being pushed back, It’s going to happen in the future, I mean that’s as forward as I can be."
All urgent, emergency and time-sensitive procedures have continued throughout the pandemic.
However, new estimates taken from OHIP data between 2020 and 2021, released by the Ontario Medical Association, found the estimated backlog was the greatest for MRIs (477,301), followed by CT Scans (269,683), cataract surgery (90,136), knee replacements (38,263), hip replacements (16,506) and coronary artery bypass grafts (3,163).
"Three serious waves of infections have created a lengthy backlog of surgeries, diagnostic exams and other health-care procedures," OMA President Dr. Adam Kassam said Wednesday.
"We have also heard from community-based family doctors and specialists, who are reporting conditions that were left undiagnosed during the pandemic as patients avoided seeking help. Some conditions have grown more serious as non-COVID patients waited longer for treatment.
The pandemic backlog is greater in community settings over hospitals. The OMA says the data suggests that while Ontarians have been actively getting their COVID vaccinations, they have been deferring visits with their family doctors where they could have been screened and treated for chronic conditions.
"I can’t even imagine how bad this is going to be. I’m very concerned," says Dr. Sandra Landolt. The dermatologist has been seeing more patients come in later, with more advanced stages of skin cancer, requiring immediate care, adding that pop-up clinics could be a way to help reduce wait times.
The OMA estimates that working at 120 per cent, clearing the backlog for knee surgeries alone could take as long as two years:
- 21 months for cataract surgeries
- 14 months for hip replacements
- 10 months for cardiac surgery
- 10 months for MRIs
- 4 months for CT scans
This follows a recent report by the province’s Financial Accountability Office that showed it will take more than three years and $1.3 billion to clear the backlog of surgeries and diagnostic procedures.
Ontario’s Science Table said in April that almost a quarter million Ontarians were waiting for surgery.
Some Ontario doctors expect the demand for mental health and addictions care will exist and grow for years after the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic has created a significant backlog of services and procedures that will require a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to address," said OMA CEO Allan O’Dette. "The OMA is committed to working closely with government and other allied health professionals on practical solutions to wait times for diagnostic tests and treatments that Ontarians need."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.