Ontario reveals a 3-step plan to increase the number of surgeries performed at independent clinics.
Ontario's Health System
Ontario is adding community clinics that will perform thousands of cataract surgeries every year.
Last week, Ontario's Premier Doug Ford talked about the need for independent surgical clinics to take the burden off of the hectic hospitals. The government sources told the Associated Press that the province intends to unveil a multi-phase plan to start performing thousands of publicly funded surgeries in private clinics.
The plan will allow diagnostic centres to conduct MRI and CT scans. It involves publicly funded procedures in private clinics. Ontario's health minister, Sylvia Jones, says the plan will boost the availability of publicly funded services.
"Our goal is to make the healthcare more convenient," said Ontario's Health Minister Sylvia Jones.
"This strategy helped Ontario hospitals operate on evenings and weekends to ensure as many patients as possible receive the care they needed," the minister added.
An ICU physician, Dr. Michael Warner, said that this move could actually make hospital staffing worse, reported CP24.
The focus of phase one will be cataract surgeries, followed by a second stage that expands into surgeries such as knee and hip replacements as well as diagnostic tests.
STEP #1 - Urgently access the existing backlog for Cataract surgery
"Cataract surgery has one of the longest wait times," said Jones. New partnerships with community surgical and diagnostics centres in Windsor, Kitchener, Waterloo, and Ottawa will add 14,000 additional cataract surgeries that will be performed each year. This number represents up to 25% of the province's current Cataract wait list and accounts for the estimated COVID-related backlog of Cataract surgeries.
The minister added, "we are also investing more than $18 Million dollars in existing centres to cover care for thousands of patients, including more than 49,000 hours of MRI and CT scans, 4,800 cataract surgeries and thousands of other procedures. This bold action will help us clear the entire pandemic backlog for these procedures by March of this year.
STEP #2 - See the scope of communities' surgical and diagnostic centres expanded to address needs on a local level with the continued focus on cataracts as well as MRI, CT imaging, colonoscopy, and endoscopy procedures
This will help allow hospitals to help focus their effort and resources on more complex and high-risk surgeries.
STEP #3 - See the introduction of legislation in February that, if passed, will allow existing community diagnostic centres to conduct more MRI and CT scanning so that people can access publicly funded diagnostic services faster and closer to home
This next step will also expand surgeries for hip and knee replacements starting in 2024. If passed, this legislation would strengthen oversight of community surgical settings so that patients can continue to receive the healthcare they deserve and provide the province with more flexibility to continue to expand access to more surgeries and further reduce wait times.
Minister Jones said, "as we work to shorten wait times, Ontario Health will ensure that these centres are included in regional health system planning. We will also continue working with our health system partners to ensure that this truly is an expansion of services and that staffing resources remain available at our publicly funded hospitals."
"This plan will boost the availability of publicly funded health services in Ontario, ensuring that Ontarians currently waiting for specialized surgeries will have greater access to world-class care where and when they needed," added Jones.
Bold solutions are necessary to improve the healthcare system as we know it today
Receiving an early diagnosis or surgery earlier than expected can have a life-altering impact on a patient's life and treatment path. The government wants to continue working hand-in-hand with the partners to make it easier and faster for people to receive the treatments they need.
On staffing, Minister Jones said, "we have greatly expanded the ability for internationally educated nurses and other healthcare providers to practice in the province of Ontario. If you have practiced in other jurisdictions across Canada and then you can seamlessly practice in Ontario." The government is also working with CBSO, the college of nurses, on training the resources and fast assessing the qualifications of individuals who are interested in the healthcare sector and wants to learn, practice, and become part of it.
Ontario's Premier Doug Ford said, "excuse the pun, but that's the way we are going to move forward with this."
Legislation if passed in February, the knee and hip replacement surgeries can be done sooner and shorten the waiting period. More surgeries, short wait times, faster, and convenience will all be paid for by OHIP.
NDP reacts to the plan and said they are going to fight against it as they believe that Ford is scheming for a long time on privatiziation of health care system and this is first step leading us there.
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