The province announced a new, four-part surgical strategy aimed at reducing wait times. Photo courtesy CBC.
Less than a week after the province announced an increase in dental surgeries to be performed, a strategy is in place to reduce wait times for hip and knee replacements.
The four-part surgical strategy will see five hip and knee replacement programs throughout the province with one opened in each health authority.
Addressing a backlog in wait times for hip and knee replacements and expanding access to dental surgery is the first phase of the strategy.
The province says once caught up, the next set of priority surgeries will be determined.
“For far too long, far too many British Columbians were left on waitlists instead of getting fast access to the surgery they needed to enjoy full, active, lives,” Premier John Horgan said in a statement.
“We’re getting people back on their feet faster by dramatically increasing access to hip and knee surgeries.”
The targeted funding for the strategy is $75 million and increasing to $100 million in 2019-20.
In 2016-17, 30 per cent of people getting hip surgery waited more than 26 weeks and 38 per cent had to wait more than 26 weeks for knee surgery.
The government expects more than 19,000 hip and knee surgeries will be performed by 2018-19, an increase of 34 per cent.
Other strategy initiatives include performing additional surgeries to keep up to demand, create more surgical access throughout the province and support for staff.
Andy Neal
