B.C. vows to reduce waiting times for hip, knee replacements

B.C. will address long waiting lists for hip and knee replacements, allowing an additional 4,000 people to have the surgeries in the coming year, the premier says.

John Horgan said $75 million extra this year is expected to increase to as much as $100 million in 2018-19 with the opening of new programs focusing on system improvements, such as operating room efficiencies.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said advocates for improved care have long argued that lessons learned from a hip and knee project in Richmond should be applied more broadly.

“When it comes to surgeries, I think it’s fair to say people have been waiting too long to get back to their normal lives,” Dix said Wednesday.

Dr. Bassam Masri, head of orthopedics for Vancouver Coastal Health, said he’s seen waits of up to two years during his 23 years of performing the surgeries.

“The target is that we can get almost everybody done in 26 weeks to alleviate the pain and suffering,” he said of a benchmark set in 2005 by health ministers in all provinces.

Masri said primary-care doctors will send patients to specific clinics where physiotherapists and nurses will determine whether they should be referred to orthopedic surgeons.

“That way, you’re reducing the overall wait time,” he said.

The latest figures from the Canadian Institute for Health Information show B.C. was third from the bottom of all provinces in 2016, with 61 per cent of patients getting hip replacements within 26 weeks.

Nova Scotia was last, with 56 per cent of patients getting the surgery within that benchmark, followed by New Brunswick at 60 per cent. The best outcomes were in Ontario.

B.C. was second-worst in Canada when it came to knee replacements, with 47 per cent having the surgery within the benchmark time, while Nova Scotia was at the bottom at 38 per cent.

Jenn D’Silva, manager of emerging issues at the institute, said the number of surgeries has increased since the benchmarks were set, but waiting times have also risen.

In 2012, 80 per cent of people were being treated for hip replacements within the benchmark in B.C., and in 2016 it was 61 per cent, she said.