Reduction of surgical waiting lists is lagging behind

Hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 are on the rise again in Quebec, which does nothing to help the resumption of surgical operations, according to the assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), the DD Lucie Opatriny. The government is currently carrying out an analysis to determine whether waiting lists can be reduced as planned by 1er April 2023, she says.

More than 22,000 Quebec patients have been waiting for an operation for a year or more, according to the MSSS. Before the pandemic, this number of “overdue patients” was around 2,500. Quebec wants to reach this pre-pandemic threshold within six months.

“Are we still able to reach [cette cible] in April 2023, or will it be a few months later? » says the DD Opatrny, in interview with The duty Wednesday. The MSSS will be fixed in a few days, according to her.

One thing is certain, the health situation has an effect on catch-up surgery. The seventh wave in the summer slowed it down, and an eighth — depending on its strength — could hurt the recovery, again according to DD Opatrny.

According to the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, the indicator is “yellow” regarding COVID-19 in Quebec. “Currently, what we are seeing is a constant increase in cases for the past four weeks, especially among people aged 70 and over and among health care workers,” he said during the interview. a press briefing held on Wednesday with the national director of public health for Quebec, Dr.r Luc Boileau.

Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 are on the rise in the province. Quebec reported 2030 on Wednesday, 207 more than the day before. The National Institute for Excellence in Health and Social Services predicts that within two weeks, the number of regular beds occupied by patients with the disease could rise to around 2,300. In intensive care, this number could reach about 47.

“The weight of these people [hospitalisées] is still lighter than during the other waves, indicates the DD Opatrny. But if we had half as many patients in those beds, that would free up beds for something else. »

Each place is counted in the network. “Hundreds” of short-term hospital beds remain closed due to lack of manpower, underlines the assistant deputy minister. Nearly 3,750 healthcare workers are currently absent for reasons related to COVID-19 (preventive withdrawal, isolation, waiting for results, etc.).

To “limit the pressure” on the network, Christian Dubé invites Quebecers to get a booster dose if they received their last one more than five months ago or if they contracted COVID-19 more than of three months. He also encourages people to wear the mask when they show symptoms of the disease.

“As long as we have not succeeded in having additional staff, the full return from the holidays […]the decompartmentalization of professions, we have to work with what we have: it is vaccination and respiratory etiquette, ”he said during the press briefing.

According to the latest available data, 22% of Quebec adults have an up-to-date vaccination (have received at least one dose in the last five months). This percentage reaches 39% among those aged 60 to 79 and 52% among those aged 80 and over. “What we don’t know is the number of people [dans ces catégories] who have had COVID, ”said the minister.

Recovery solutions

Various solutions are in place for the resumption of surgical procedures, particularly in ophthalmology, according to the DD Opatrny. “For cataract surgery, the average wait time is about 12 weeks,” she says. Why are there thousands of people waiting more than 12 months? There are places where it is the surgeon who makes his own list instead of a planning center with administrative agents [qui ont toutes les listes et qui peuvent prioriser des patients]. »

The DD Opatrny claims to have notified the surgeons, by way of a letter, that they should offer their patients to be operated on by a colleague if their waiting list is too long.

To reduce the number of patients waiting for surgery, Quebec continues to use specialized medical centers. But “the types of surgery” performed there are “really quite limited,” according to Dr.D Opatrny. She explains that these private clinics have “no blood bank or intensive care”, for example.

The MSSS is also trying to free up hospital beds by reducing the number of patients who no longer require short-term care, but who remain hospitalized for lack of places in CHSLDs, intermediate resources or family-type resources. It asks health establishments to offer home care to these users so that they wait for their place in accommodation and relies, among other things, on the support of caregivers. As of October 7, these patients occupied 13.29% of hospital beds.

According to the assistant deputy minister, this measure could help unclog emergency rooms. Wednesday at 6 p.m., the stretcher occupancy rate averaged 153% in Montreal hospitals, 147% in the Laurentians and 141% in Montérégie. “Right now, we have occupancy rates that we don’t usually see in the months of September-October. It worries us,” she said.

The influenza season has not yet started. The MSSS also relies on front-line access counters to direct patients who are orphans or who are waiting for a family doctor to the right professionals when they have a health concern.

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