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B.C. starts process of resuming 30,000 surgeries that were postponed due to COVID-19

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British Columbia is starting the process of resuming tens of thousands of elective surgeries that were postponed as health officials increased hospital capacity in preparation for a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Patients who have had their elective surgeries postponed will be contacted between May 7th and 15th by health officials to gauge their willingness to move forward with surgeries, and ensure they are aware of safety protocols in place.

Public health officials have identified approximately 30,000 elective surgeries that have been postponed as a result of the pandemic.

According to deputy health minister Stephen Brown, a further 24,000 cases have not been added to the waitlist due to slowdown in surgeon referrals.

(Ministry of Health)

The plan to restart elective surgeries and bring the health care system back up to pre-COVID-19 levels is described as an ambitious one which, in the first year of implementation, is expected to cost the province $250 million.

“That tells you how much effort is required here and puts in context both the challenges we face but also the resources and the efforts that we intend to apply to make this go,” said health minster Adrian Dix at a technical briefing on Thursday morning.

Five key steps have been identified by the Ministry of Health to increase the surgical capacity in order to make up the number of elective surgeries lost:

  • Increasing surgeries
  • Increasing essential personnel
  • Focusing on patients
  • Adding more resources
  • Reporting on progress

Some of the measures that will be taken to increase the number of surgeries conducted on a daily basis will be to extend daily operating hours 5 or 6 p.m. for all hospitals, add surgeries on weekends, and optimize operations over the summer.

In the best case scenario, it will take between 17 and 24 months to catch up and make up for the number of elective surgeries lost during the pandemic — this time period is subject to change based on whether or not there are COVID-19 surges in the future.

Before the start of the pandemic, there were 15,000 elective surgeries conducted in B.C. each month. This means, for every 10 per cent of non-urgent cases that are not addressed each month, the timeline for catching up is extended by half a month.

The second step is to make sure there are enough health care workers to staff the system. To that end the province hopes to hire all 1,550 nurses that are graduating this year, and find out if the 1,331 re-instated nurses will be available to help in the coming months.

Public health will also coordinate with surgeons and anesthesiologists to ensure adequate supply and recruitment, and there are plans to hire additional support staff, like medical device handlers, booking, housekeeping, food services, etc.

Urgent patients will be prioritized when it comes to booking surgeries — 65 to 70 per cent of people requiring urgent care are cancer patients — followed by patients who had their surgeries postponed, and the approximately 14,000 patients who have been waiting over twice their clinical benchmarks.

The $250 million implementation of this plan will mostly be used to fund hiring and additional hours for health care personnel, and for funding extra OR time.

One positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is its impact on British Columbia’s health care system in the long run.

“By reducing and eliminating this backlog, we will then have built a system that can continue to reduce wait times in the period that follows,” said Minister Dix.

“If you close a gap of 30-50,000 cases, then you can continue to do that in the months and years that follow getting back to normal. These measures will have a positive impact for years and years and years to come.”

Below is the target timeline for restarting the province’s health care system using a step-by-step approach.

(Ministry of Health)

The Ministry of Health hopes that the province’s health care system will return to pre-COVID capacity by June 15th, 2020.

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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