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As a surgeon in Ontario, it does not come as a surprise that patients are not getting surgeries in a timely manner. I have watched over the last few years, an incredible drop in availability of OR times, both for elective and emergency surgery in our province.
I frequently have to "Bump" colleagues or have my cases bumped, due to higher priorities cases. Historically, Hip fractures are seen as C cases, which means there is a window of 48 hours to get them done.
The problem is further aggravated by the fact that most hospital operating rooms only start the " emergency lists after all the elective surgeries for the day are done, which is usually not before 3:30pm, but more often than not, not until 5pm. And C cases aren't done after 11pm, which means that these cases have a window of seven and half hours to get done, or they are postponed to the next day, after 3:30pm.
That is also a dehumanization of the care, and cases in the operating room lists are seen as a " hip fracture" or an "ischemic leg". There is never the case of Mr. Smith, who is the father of 3 who has been waiting for 2 days for his surgery and will miss his granddaughter's wedding.
It is very concerning that hospital administration and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care have put the focus on saving money as much as possible, in detriment to patient care. Not surprisingly, the results are poorer outcomes and increased costs to the system overall.
The focus has shift back to taking care of people in a very timely manner, otherwise our patients will continue to suffer and our system will only deteriorate.