nova scotia emerging as a leader in canada for shorter surgical wait times
4 minute read
an orthopedic robot used for replacement surgeries at the dartmouth general hospital.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
nova scotia continues to change the narrative around long wait times for surgeries.
grim tales of excruciating delays used to be common, but the province recently landed in the top three in canada for the shortest wait times for four procedures, according to data released by the canadian institute for health information (cihi).
nova scotia ranked second in hip replacements, knee replacements and cataract surgeries, as well as third in hip fracture repairs. it’s the second year in a row nova scotia has placed in the top tier.
“we’re making measurable progress,” cathy lynn howley, senior director of nova scotia health’s perioperative (surgical) services network, said. “surgical volumes, operating room hours, and access have certainly improved significantly.
“but i think it’s still important that we need to recognize that some patients are still waiting too long. so, although this is an opportunity to celebrate our successes and the hard work of our teams over the last years, there’s still work to be done.”
an ophthalmologist will determine if surgery to remove a cataract is needed. – postmedia file
the stats released by cihi showed 77 per cent of hip replacements were completed within the 182-day benchmark, and 69 per cent of knee replacements were done during that same time frame. that represents a 24 per cent improvement for hips and a 22 per cent bump for knees since 2023.
there was also a nine per cent improvement in cataract procedures (77 per cent done in the 112-day period) and a four per cent jump for hip breaks (87 per cent completed in the 48-hour benchmark).
“in 2022, nova scotia health began a multi-year plan to improve access to surgeries, along with endoscopy procedures and diagnostic imaging,” howley said.
“this type of improvement takes time and i think we’re now starting to see the results and trends, which are encouraging. for the last four years we’ve really focused on a number of things for all surgeries, including better utilization of our resources, our electronic referral system had been launched, scheduling with centralized booking, attracting and recruiting and retaining the skilled staff required to do these surgeries, as well as increasing capacity. it’s really been a multi-pronged, multi-year approach that has led to these sustained improvements.
cathy lynn howley, senior director of nova scotia health’s perioperative (surgical) services network. – supplied by nova scotia health
advertisement
“improving orthopedics certainly is also multi-faceted. orthopedic assessment clinics are helping to provide timely support for those initial assessments, expanding those clinics, and the introduction of robotics has certainly changed how we treat some of these patients. one of the other things in the orthopedic realm, at dartmouth general in particular, that they’ve been really working on is efficiency.
“they have been performing some high-volume days, which have been recognized recently, as well as right across the province. we’re working to improve our volume of patients that are being completed as outpatients. certain patients meet the criteria to have their hip and knee replacements completed as outpatients and going home the same day. so for some patients, they have a much better experience when they get to recover in the surroundings of their own home.”
nova scotia health also reported shortened wait times for bladder cancer surgeries, cardiac bypasses and prostate cancer procedures since 2019-20.
further data showed other broad improvements over the past seven years, most notably a more than 30 per cent decrease in patients on the surgical waitlist from 23,644 pre-pandemic to 16,280 on march 31.
also from the comparison from 2019-20 to now, scheduled surgeries are up 17 per cent (59,091 patients versus 50,666), total operating room hours jumped by 14 per cent (110,951 versus 97,306) and average surgical wait times are down to 93 days.
ashley potter of stryker canada, left, and dr. jennifer leighton, an orthopedic surgeon, with an orthopedic robot used for replacement surgeries at the dartmouth general hospital on may 12.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
howley said there is “a clear plan to continue to make these improvements and to sustain these improvements.”
“the perioperative program in nova scotia is really taking a data-driven approach and using that wait time data to prioritize patients and to lead our decision making,” she said.
“so some of the things that i’ve mentioned previously . . . allow us to help make sure the high-priority patients are being booked promptly, the long waiters aren’t being overlooked, and that care is being delivered in a fair and consistent manner.
advertisement
“but we do need to prioritize when we have limited resources, and so some of those systems allow us to do those things, improving communication with the patients, reducing cancelations, and helps us make better use of the resources that we have.”
more than anything, the optimism should be a win in itself for a provincial health-care system that had been under fire for years for lengthy surgical turnarounds.
“this certainly serves as further motivation for us to remain focused on what is needed in nova scotia to ensure that there’s access to quality surgical care,” howley said.
“i think our greatest strength is that we genuinely care about the patients but also acknowledging that some patients are still experiencing long wait times and that we are continuing to work towards that.
“although these results need to be celebrated, and they tell us that we’re moving in the right direction, don’t tell us that the work is finished. so there’s still work to be done, but we’re certainly incredibly proud of our surgical teams in nova scotia and what they’ve been able to accomplish to date.
share story
