So she said you need to get it fixed now, so I opted for the private surgery,” he said.įraser applauds the Ford government’s plan to perform publicly-funded surgeries, like cataract procedures, in private clinics. I would look left and I would miss cars that are coming. He instead opted to go to a private clinic and paid thousands of dollars out of pocket to get the surgery done within six weeks. “I went to the surgeon and she said that if you wait it’s a two year waiting list through OHIP,” Fraser said. No matter if cataract, hip replacements, knee replacements, foot surgeries, diagnostics," he said while stressing this will take the burden off hospitals and allow them to focus on critical procedures.Īllen Fraser from Fergus was diagnosed with a cataract in his left eye and needed to go for surgery. “This is one step of making sure we provide care. “This would be permanent,” he said, citing an aging population and immigrant population who are in need of healthcare. The legislative changes that will allow private clinics to perform more surgeries is not a temporary measure to deal with the backlog, Ford clarified. “Our government is taking bold action to reduce wait times for surgeries, all while ensuring Ontarians use their OHIP card to get the care they need, never their credit card.” “When it comes to your health, the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Premier Doug Ford said in a news release. Last fall, there were approximately 209,000 patients waiting for a hospital operating room-based surgical procedure in Ontario, and about 200,000 before the pandemic. The plan will see $18 million invested in existing centres with the goal of reducing wait lists for cataract surgeries to pre-pandemic levels by this March.Īccording to the province, there are currently an estimated 206,000 people waiting for surgical procedures. “We need to build on the spirit of collaboration on display across the health-care sector.” “We need to be bold, innovative and creative,” Health Minister Sylvia Jones said at a news conference Monday, adding all of these procedures will be covered for patients under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). The province says these surgeries will be done with existing health human resources and will be covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). “And what that allows us to do at St Mary’s is really preserve those critical resources with an acute care hospital.” “We know cataracts have taken a particular hit during the pandemic,” said Rebecca Stuart with the hospital. Mary's Hospital in Kitchener told CTV News, staff have already been sending some of its cataract patients to TLC Laser Eye Centre for surgeries, to try to reduce its own backlogs during the pandemic. We are pleased to be a part of the solution and look forward to serving the community.” “At Vision Group Canada, we are dedicated to delivering the highest quality care to our patients while actively addressing the prolonged waitlists and backlog of cases that patients are currently experiencing. “We are honoured to have been selected by the Ontario Ministry of Health to support improved access to vital cataract care services in the Kitchener-Waterloo region,” Vision Group Canada Regional Director Marion Marshall said in an email. Harris’ office said the Waterloo-area clinic that will be a part of this plan in TLC Laser Eye Centres in Waterloo - a brand under Vision Group Canada. The plan will add 14,000 more OHIP-insured cataract surgeries each year, expand community-based clinics to perform more surgeries such as cataracts and MRI and CT imaging and introduce legislation to expand surgeries for hip and knee replacements in community-based clinics by 2024, Mike Harris MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga said in a news release. These centres include both not-for-profit and for-profit clinics. It's estimated 14,000 cataract surgeries can be done through these centres, equating to roughly a quarter of the current wait list. The other areas which will see private clinics perform cataract surgeries as part of step one are Windsor and Ottawa. Kitchener and Waterloo will be one of three communities where cataract surgeries will be performed in community clinics instead of hospitals. On Monday, the province said the changes will be carried out in a three-step program, leveraging community surgical and diagnostic centres to eliminate surgical backlogs and reduce wait times. The provincial government is rolling out a plan that will see some for-profit community surgical and diagnostic centres take on more responsibilities in a bid to reduce the backlog of surgeries across the province.
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