Saskatchewan’s surgery backlog frustrating for those waiting for relief

Most Canadian patients are waiting longer than the recommended time frame for their surgeries, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

The COVID-19 pandemic is doing nothing to speed up the process. Compared to the same time last year, there have been nearly 11,000 fewer surgeries performed in Saskatchewan this year.

Seventy-five-year-old Rose Rogers has been waiting more than a year to get her hip replacement surgery done, but the pain has lasted much longer.

“My pain started three years ago, my doctor had told me there was wear and tear on the bones but it wasn’t at the stage where it needed to be replaced,” said Rose.

“I’m at the point where I can’t walk, I can’t trust my knees because they will buckle on me. The pain makes it hard to sleep at night.”

She added that the pain has had a lasting impact on more than just her health.

“It has affected my social life, I can’t prepare meals, I can’t do any baking, I can’t look after our grandchildren, I can’t do any of that. It has affected every stage of my life,” added Rose.

While the need for a hip replacement is labeled as elective, waiting an extended period of time could have a serious impact on someone’s quality of life.

“I can’t understand how anybody in their right mind could call a hip or knee replacement an elective surgery,” said Rose.

Rose’s husband, Tom, has been frustrated with the lack of communication by the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

“We have three hospitals in Saskatoon, how many people are in hospital because of COVID-19? I think this could have been handled differently,” said Tom.

“There are people who are worse off than I am, I have an awesome husband who takes care of me. It’s getting harder and harder to care for myself, I can’t put on a pair of socks anymore,” said Rose.

“I don’t know how people who live alone handle it.”

A picture of Rose & Tom from their Facebook page.

The wait for a surgery can feel unbearable, especially if it’s been cancelled.

Rose had her pre-op on March 16th, before getting a phone call shortly after from her doctor saying that all surgeries were cancelled, with no idea when her surgery would be done.

She was supposed to have surgery on March 25th.

“She had already waited a long time to just see the specialist, she saw the specialist over a year ago. We had sold our house so we could get a condo with an elevator, because she uses a walker and can’t do stairs anymore,” said Tom. “Surgeons are kept waiting, while some people are suffering. It’s angering if you’re one of the people suffering. I think the government should be starting elective surgeries immedietely, I think it’s clear that there are lots of hospital beds open.”

In a comment from the SHA, it said the urgency of surgery – elective versus urgent for example – is determined by each physician/surgeon, saying that elective surgeries can be reclassified as more urgent in certain circumstances.

“We know that patients have been impacted by the need to reduce the number of elective surgeries provided in order to focus our resources on fighting COVID-19. Every jurisdiction is reporting a slowdown in surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic event,” said the SHA in an email to 650 CKOM.

“Every jurisdiction including Saskatchewan is now working on planning to not only resume those services but address these surgical backlogs.”

In the SHA’s statement, during the period of March 24 – May 25, 2019, there were 15,851 surgeries performed provincially.

Compared to the same time this year – there were only 4,784 surgeries.

“As we safely increase service levels, we are learning to do business in different ways that promote access to services for Saskatchewan residents while still ensuring safety and proper precautions against the spread of COVID-19,” said the SHA.