Orthopaedic Care Day in Canada marked as provinces continue to struggle with wait times
On Wednesday, a not-for-profit association is encouraging Canadians to join in celebrating Orthopaedic Care Day, perhaps while they wait another week to get that operation done.
"Canadian Orthopaedic Care Day transcends mere celebration; it is a powerful reminder of the innovative spirit and tireless dedication within our community,” said Canadian Orthopaedic Association president Dr. Pierre Guy.
With 10.6 per cent of residents living with a mobility-related disability, the association is highlighting the need for advancements in musculoskeletal health and mobility.
“Together, we're not only advancing orthopaedic care for our patients, but also championing a culture of collaboration among healthcare professionals,” said Dr. Pierre Guy.
The association says the orthopaedic team-based care is especially important with the challenge of having the nation's highest specialty wait time for surgery in 2023.
However, it also says recent data reveals some promising developments in the field.
“In 2021–2022, a remarkable 15.6 per cent of hip and knee replacements performed to treat osteoarthritis were conducted as day surgeries, a significant leap from 0.7 per cent in 2018–2019,” stated the association in a news release.
“Our focus remains on improving these wait times through strategic initiatives and collaboration, underscoring the urgent need for continued support and resources.”
'TOO LONG'
According to a report issued by the Fraser Institute, Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2023 are too long.
"The results of this year’s survey indicate that despite provincial strategies to reduce wait times and high levels of health expenditure, it is clear that patients in Canada continue to wait too long to receive medically necessary treatment," the report said.
It found that Ontario had the shortest wait list betweeen a referral from a general practitioner and receipt of treatment at 21.6 weeks. The average across the country was 27.7 weeks, which is 198 per cent longer than the 9.3 weeks Canadians waited in 1993.
Alberta patients had an average wait time of 33.3 weeks, about the same as Newfoundland's 33.5.
The longest waits are in Nova Scotia, at 56.7 weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.