Patients in all provinces are waiting longer than before the COVID-19 pandemic for hip or knee replacements, cancer-related surgery or other priority procedures, new national data reveals .
A report released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information says that’s the case even though more people underwent these procedures between April and September 2023 compared to the same months in 2019.
The most recent data compiled by the institute examines wait times for hip and knee replacements, repair of hip fractures, certain cancer surgeries, as well as radiation therapy.
The data shows that 66% of hip replacement patients were operated on within the recommended 26 weeks, down from 75% in 2019, even though the number of procedures increased by 18%.
As for knee replacement, 59% of people were operated on within this time frame, compared to 70% before the pandemic.
Only 21% of patients in Prince Edward Island underwent knee replacement surgery within 26 weeks, the lowest rate in the country. This figure was 37% in Newfoundland and Labrador and 38% in New Brunswick and Quebec.
Ontario patients waited the shortest time for almost all procedures. Data shows that 76% of patients in this province underwent knee replacement surgery within the recommended time frame, while 57% of surgeries in British Columbia met this criterion.
In Alberta, 49% of people received the knee replacement they needed within the recommended time frame.
Prince Edward Island was also at the bottom of the list for hip replacements, with 39 per cent of people having the operation within 26 weeks, while Ontario was again tops with 79 %.
Emergency surgery for hip fractures was completed within the recommended 48 hours for 82% of patients last year, down from 86% in 2019.
When it comes to radiotherapy, 94% of patients across Canada received treatment within the recommended time frame, but this rate was 97% in 2019. Once again, there were disparities between provinces.
While all patients in Manitoba and 99 per cent of those in Ontario received radiation therapy within the recommended time frame, that figure dropped to 57 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador, the lowest in Canada.
Although there are no established benchmarks for breast, bladder, colorectal and lung cancer surgery, the report notes that median wait times for these procedures have increased by two four days compared to 2019.
Benchmark times were established by the country’s health ministers in 2004 for joint replacements, vision restoration, cancer treatment, cardiac care and diagnostic imaging.
Separate data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows that unprecedented percentages of hip and knee replacements meeting criteria were recorded in 2010, and that average wait times increased for most procedures over the years.
A possible solution
The Dr Pierre Guy, who is a surgeon in Vancouver and president of the Canadian Orthopedic Association, which has 1,200 members, points out that people who need hip and knee replacements generally have arthritis and suffer from daily pain.
“They have to take painkillers, sometimes narcotics. Or they might need a cane and their daily activities would be significantly limited,” he points out.
Although the data shows the number of procedures completed, Mr. Guy adds that it is important to note that many more people are still waiting for surgery that would improve their quality of life.
“I absolutely recognize the importance of data, the importance of metrics, provided that various hospitals and health authorities don’t just focus on hip and knee replacements to make the numbers look good,” he says .
One potential solution is to discharge patients the same day as their surgery, to free up more hospital beds, he raises. However, this requires a team of anesthesiologists, nurses and physiotherapists coordinating follow-up care, to ensure the patient has everything they need at home after surgery.
Nearly 17% of hospital procedures were day surgeries in British Columbia between 2021 and 2022, compared to just 1% in 2018, but there is still room to do better, in his opinion.
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