This is an opinion column by President and CEO, Lynn Guerriero and Chief of Surgery, Dr. Helen Caetano published in the St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review and Welland Tribune.
Surgical wait times have always been a critical issue in our health-care system across Ontario and Canada.
Niagara Health performs more than 20,000 surgical procedures a year, and we are continuously looking for ways to improve access and reduce surgical wait times.
Our priority is the health and well-being of our community. We take a patient-centred approach to surgical care and strive to ensure equitable access for all patients.
There are a number of factors that are considered when we plan surgical procedures.
Prioritization of procedures is based on the urgency of the cases. Emergency cases are done on a trauma list, which is ongoing even after-hours and on weekends. These take place in St. Catharines or Niagara Falls, at the hospital best equipped for the type of surgery with the required specialized training and equipment.
Surgical priority is also given to cancer cases. Niagara Health surgeons perform approximately 4,000 emergency surgeries and about 17,000 elective/scheduled operations annually.
Elective surgeries — those that are non-urgent and scheduled in advance — are done during weekday hours. While operating room time is prioritized for life-threatening emergency procedures and cancer cases, Niagara Health always keeps in mind that even though some procedures are elective and not considered emergent, timely access to surgery can prevent worsening of the underlying condition and improve quality of life.
One major challenge contributing to delays is the global shortage of anesthesiologists, which is currently affecting our region significantly.
This shortage impacts our ability to perform surgical procedures. As a result, we are currently operating at 75 per cent capacity.
Despite our efforts to recruit anesthesiologists, national and provincial shortages make this difficult. Although we have recruited several anesthesiologists who will start within the next year, it takes time for them to obtain licensure, leave their current roles and relocate. In addition, some of our existing anesthesiologists continue to retire.
We are also actively exploring other approaches to better utilize our anesthesiologists’ time, including the expanded use of anesthesia assistants, expanded supervised nurse sedation and general practice anesthesia to expand our blended-care model.
The shortage of anesthesiologists is part of a broader issue affecting various health-care roles, including registered nurses, practical nurses, environmental services aides and diagnostic imaging technicians. This national shortage strains hospitals across the country.
Niagara Health is working hard to address these challenges. We are enhancing our local recruitment strategies and building partnerships nationally and internationally. We are also collaborating with community partners and exploring new models of care to make the most of our current staff resources.
We continue to look at ways to optimize our perioperative service model to ensure efficient use of our staff. This includes adopting new technologies, streamlining processes and implementing best practices to improve patient outcomes and reduce wait times.
A great example within our organization is centralizing cataract surgery. The Welland hospital is the centre of excellence for eye care, where we are able to efficiently perform more than 6,300 cataract surgeries a year.
Despite these challenges, we are optimistic and aiming to return to full surgical capacity by the end of 2024. This will help us meet the needs of our patients and reduce the backlog of surgeries.
We understand the strain these challenges place on our surgical teams and the patients waiting for procedures. We are committed to finding sustainable solutions to these pressures and ensuring timely access to surgical care. Our teams are working hard to address these issues.
As we continue to navigate these challenges, we ask for your understanding and patience as we work to improve our surgical services.
