Albertans still face lengthy delays for knee, hip replacements: report
Wait times for elective surgeries in Canada have improved compared to the start of the pandemic but a new study shows Albertans are still facing significant delays for knee and hip replacements.
Fifty-nine percent of Albertans waiting for a hip replacement received one within the recommended six-month timeframe given by a surgeon, compared to 65 per cent nationally.
As for knee replacements, less than half of Albertans on the waiting — 49 per cent — received a knee replacement in the same timeframe, compared to 59 per cent for the rest of Canada.
CIHI's percentage of patients treated in Alberta within benchmark, 2021.
Percentage of Canadian patients treated within benchmark, 2021. (CIHI)
Tracy Johnson, the director of health system analytics with CIHI, says staffing is a major problem plaguing all provinces.
"Prior to the pandemic we had an aging workforce and the pandemic has exacerbated or increased the number of people leaving the workforce to retire or they're plain tired," said Johnson. "So it's finding people. It’s not that big of a challenge to increase the number of surgeries but finding people to do those surgeries and support people in their care after those surgeries (is difficult)."
Elective surgeries, including joint replacements, were cancelled at different waves of the pandemic as the health-care system struggled under the weight of COVID-19.
According to the report, around 600,000 fewer surgeries were performed across the country since the start of the pandemic, with joint replacements and cataract surgeries making up about 25 per cent of the total reduction.
"If you’re not able to work that has an economic impact," explained Johnson. "There's a psychological and an economic and a physical impact of waiting for these surgeries or having them delayed."
Steve Buick, press secretary for Alberta's health minister, says the province is preparing to announce new contracts for hip and knee replacement to increase volumes, reduce wait times and expand capacity in hospitals and chartered surgical facilities.
He says the current waiting list for surgeries in Alberta is less than 73,000 compared to 82,000 at the peak experienced last fall.
"Scheduled surgery has been disrupted in every province, but we've learned along the way and done better recently. We've avoided across-the-board surgery reductions this past winter and, as a result, the overall waiting list is actually coming down.
"We’ve cut wait times for cataract surgery almost in half in the past year, from 19 weeks to 10, the shortest it has been in seven years."
In April, Alberta announced AHS would be using chartered surgical facilities in Calgary and Edmonton to provide 35,000 eye procedures in the coming year.
According to CIHI, wait times for MRI and CT scans have also improved since the start of the pandemic with an additional 9,000 CT scans compared to last year and 20,0000 MRIs.
"There has been quite a ramp up in them. The typical wait times is now 13 days for a CT scan and 45 days for an MRI and that is improved. That’s about a half of that it was in 2019," said Johnson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.