queensway carleton hospital cuts down wait list for orthopedic surgery by partnering with arnprior hospital
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dr. sanjeev sharma, the lead orthopedic surgeon at queensway carleton, said less complex knee replacements are being done at arnprior, which frees queensway carleton to focus on more complex cases.
julie oliver
/
postmedia
orthopedic surgeons from queensway carleton hospital are reducing their waiting lists by performing surgeries at under-utilized operating rooms in arnprior, 45 minutes away.
the total knee surgery program — which is a collaboration between arnprior regional health and queensway carleton hospital — has boosted knee surgeries performed by 30 per cent over the past year, according to hospital officials.
the program began in may 2022 as a way to build surgical capacity in the region. since then, orthopedic surgeons from queensway carleton hospital have completed 287 total knee replacement surgeries in arnprior — 30 per cent more than would have been done without the collaboration.
the hospitals are marking the first anniversary of the partnership at a time when the ontario government is expanding the number of operations done in private, for-profit surgical facilities. critics argue the move will cost taxpayers more money at a time when many operating rooms in public hospitals are underused.
under the surgery program, surgeons from queensway carleton travel to arnprior to perform surgeries on mondays and fridays. they do four surgeries in arnprior each day.
other staff members involved in the surgeries are from arnprior regional hospital. they include anesthetists, nurses and other health professionals. because total knee replacements had not been performed at arnprior, queensway carleton provided the surgical team in arnprior with specialized training before the program launched.
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queensway carleton is not the first ottawa hospital to partner with a smaller regional hospital to make use of operating room space and reduce waiting lists. orthopedic surgeons from the ottawa hospital also perform day surgeries in kemptville.
the ottawa hospital has also been renting operating space at riverside hospital, which is unused on weekends, to a private group of orthopedic surgeons to perform surgeries in collaboration with the hospital.
critics fear ontario’s new legislation will allow for-profit clinics to poach staff from the public health system and will drain the system of funding. many critics say more should be done to make use of underutilized public operating room space before expanding the private system.
hip and knee surgeries, along with cataract surgeries, have had among the longest waiting lists in the province, although that is changing.
dr. sanjeev sharma, the lead orthopedic surgeon at queensway carleton, said the collaboration between queensway carleton and the arnprior hospital is working well for patients.
sharma said less complex knee replacements are being done at arnprior, which frees queensway carleton to focus on more complex cases.
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sharma also weighed in on the province’s move to expand privately operated surgical centres, saying he and others have questions about what its impact will have on the system.
“we just don’t know. it seems like it is becoming a very patchwork system where people are putting in fixes without a global plan, which is concerning to me,” he said. “i think there is some capacity left in the system before we jump to full privatization.”
among his concerns is that public hospitals will have to deal with any complications from surgeries done at private clinics. complications, he said, are not common, but they do occur. there is a complication rate of between three and four per cent for hip and knee replacement surgeries, he said.
“if you work solely in a private centre, who is going to take care of your patients?” he said one patient who went to a private clinic was told to go to the emergency room if they experienced complications.
“it is not ideal patient care. there are a lot of issues that need to be ironed out.”
ontario’s bill 60 mentions that applicants wanting to open a private community health facility receiving funding from the province need to show plans to integrate into the public system.
sharma said he already sees patients who have had surgery in private clinics in quebec because they thought the wait was too long at home.
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raeline mcgrath, vice-president of patient care at arnprior, said the collaboration is good for patients — who get surgery faster than they would otherwise — and for the hospital.
“we want to be part of the bigger system … working to free up surgical space. staff feel like they are contributing to something bigger.”
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