Vancouver ~ the BC Orthopedic Association said today that collaboration among health care stakeholders leads to success for patients, doctors and communities.

Several examples of collaboration exist in BC with models of care that include surgeon-led multi-disciplinary clinics that utilize centralized intake and ‘first available surgeon’ strategies to reduce wait times.

Orthopaedic surgeons are working hard by providing timely access to the most appropriate and comprehensive care throughout British Columbia, according to Dr. Alastair Younger, President of the BCOA. Younger states there are programs in Victoria (Rebalance MD), Vancouver (Footbridge Clinic) , North Vancouver (Pacific Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine ), Fraser (Fraser Orthopaedic Institute), Kelowna (Kelowna Bone and Joint Health), Surrey (Surrey Comprehensive Orthopaedics), Cowichan Valley, and Prince George that have set up multidisciplinary clinics in order to see patients faster, improve the patient experience and ultimately improve patient care. More clinics care currently being developed.

We are pleased that the government is funding more hip and knee replacement surgeries, however we want to continue to work with the Ministry of Health to address the wait times for the other 85% of orthopaedic patients still waiting for surgery. Much more needs to be done to improve access to care for patients as orthopaedic surgeons need more operating room time to get people the care and surgery they require, however we are improving patient care with these surgeon led innovative programs.

Please visit http://solcreative.ca/bcoa/media/media-inquiries/ to see videos of examples of successful programs implemented by orthopaedic surgeons.

For further information, see www.bcoa.ca or all 250.588.2274.

Both events will be held virtually this year. Details will be available soon.

 

 

---

April 4, 2018

Vancouver~ The provincial government’s recent announcement of targeted funding for more hip and knee replacement surgeries may mean decreased access for the other 85% of orthopaedic patients on wait lists, according to Dr. Alastair Younger, president of the BC Orthopaedic Association.

“While we are pleased there is a promise for more timely access to care for our hip and knee replacement patients, they only amount to 15% of all orthopaedic surgeries in the province,” he pointed out. “The other 85% still face long wait-times – from referral to consultation with a surgeon, to surgery itself takes an average of almost a full year – and that is not timely care.

“Many patients requiring orthopaedic care are unable to work,” Dr. Younger explained. “For example, half of patients with ankle arthritis cannot work. In the absence of more funding for these types of patients, the priority on hips and knees could well increase wait times for patients suffering with ankle, shoulder, foot, hand, wrist, elbow and other musculoskeletal challenges.”

Dr. Younger pointed out that more funding for hip and knee replacements does not address the increased need for access to trauma surgery because of our growing and aging population. “Orthopaedic surgeons cover both elective surgery and fractured bones,” Dr. Younger explained. “The fractures are often managed at night and over weekends, and amount to over 50% of the work performed by orthopaedic surgeons. With more hip and knee replacements being required by the government’s program, this may mean reduced access to trauma surgery and certainly puts more strain on all the doctors, nurses and ancillary staff providing orthopaedic care.

“We do laud the government’s announcement and we always want to work with the Ministry of Health towards improving timely access to care for all orthopaedic patients,” Dr. Younger said. “But we feel strongly that unequal access to care is a violation of the Accessibility Principle of the Canada Health Act and indeed, restricted access to care may be viewed as a human rights violation. We take these ethical and legal considerations seriously.

“There’s also the practical side to consider as well,” he pointed out. “Some facilities and administrators will make resource allocation decisions to prioritize hip and knee replacements and that will exacerbate wait times for other orthopaedic patients. For example, we treat many children, teens and young adults who may face lifelong disabilities or missed opportunities without appropriate and timely care.”

The British Columbia Orthopaedic Association is the professional organization that advocates for orthopaedic patients and represents the majority of orthopaedic surgeons in the province.

 

 

 

---

August 1, 2017

Vancouver ~ A study of wait times for 4,100 BC orthopaedic patients concluded that the average journey from referral to surgery was “worrisomely long at 59.5 weeks,” according to the study’s authors Drs. Alastair Younger and Dr. Kevin Wing.

“This study confirmed what our members – orthopaedic surgeons in British Columbia – have long known: our patients wait up to one year for non-emergency access to consultation and care,” Dr. Younger said. “It’s been difficult to get accurate information about this, especially when the BC Ministry of Health’s own website seems to suggest access to surgery takes only a few weeks.”

Published this week in the BC Medical Journal (BCMJWaitTimes) and funded by the BC Orthopaedic Association, the province-wide study looked at wait times for orthopaedic care in all five health regions and examined regional variations as well. The data was collected from 49 orthopaedic surgeons between May and July of last year.

“All health authorities have long waits for consultation and surgery, with some variation by region,” Dr. Younger said. “The bright spots with lower wait times for consultation were regions in which there are surgeon-led multi-disciplinary clinics that utilize centralized intake and ‘first available surgeon’ strategies to reduce wait times.”

Drs. Younger and Wing pointed out that the province’s announcement last month of more funding for hip and knee replacements do not address the trauma surgery increases created by our growing and aging population. “Orthopaedic surgeons cover both elective surgery and fractured bones,” Dr. Younger explained. “The fractures are often managed at night and over weekends, and amount to over 50% of the work performed by orthopaedic surgeons.

“We feel strongly that unequal access to care is a violation of the Accessibility Principle of the Canada Health Act and indeed, restricted access to care may be viewed as a human rights violation. We take these ethical and legal considerations seriously,” Dr. Younger said. “In addition, we treat many children, teens and young adults who may face lifelong disabilities or missed opportunities without appropriate and timely care.”

The BCOA 2017 wait time study, will be repeated later this year.

 

 

Click here to read the Fraser Research Bulletin

 

August 1, 2017

Vancouver, BC ~ Thousands of British Columbia residents in pain wait more than a year for an initial consultation with an orthopaedic surgeon, according to a recent study by the BC Orthopaedic Association.

Dr. Kevin Wing, a Clinical Professor in UBC’s Department of Orthopaedics, and immediate past president of the BC Orthopaedic Association and lead author explained that the study, conducted over 2016-17, followed patient’s episodes of care and revealed 16,632 consultations were performed by orthopaedic surgeons on request of referring physicians. “Fully half of those patients waited – some in great pain – more than 21 weeks to see me or one of my colleagues just for a consultation,” he said. “Almost 1,700 patients waited longer than 64 weeks for their consultation. This is not acceptable.”

Wing said many orthopaedic surgeons ‘triage’ patients based on medical urgency and emergency orthopaedic cases are treated immediately, but the wait time for both consultation and the subsequent second wait time for those who need surgery is far too long for patients who need relief from pain and immobility. “Half of the 3,885 surgical patients in the study waited more than 33 weeks for surgery and 389 patients waited longer than 78 weeks from the time they signed their consent forms for surgery,” Wing, a foot and ankle specialist at St. Paul’s Hospital, explained. “Half of those 3,885 patients also waited longer than 61 weeks from the time they were first referred by their family doctor to the day of their surgery.

“The scope of the problem is not being acknowledged by our elected officials and the bureaucracy that runs our healthcare system,” Wing pointed out. “We need major reform for our patients to receive what they are entitled to: timely access to care. As surgeons, we are dependent on many other resources in the system and we cannot make all the changes needed alone; we all have to work together to fix our broken system.”

The BCOA funds the “Wait Time Initiative” which collects patient wait times from the electronic records of orthopaedic surgeons’ offices throughout the province. The data tracks both first and second wait times; the first the time it takes for a patient referred by a family doctor to be seen by an orthopaedic surgeon and the second the time it takes for those patients who need surgery to receive it.

---

To add your voice to the conversation about timely access to care, email the BC Minister of Health at HLTH.health@gov.bc.ca or the Federal Minister of Health at Hon.Jane.Philpott@Canada.ca.

For more about timely access to healthcare, see www.bcoa.ca, and call 250-881-2262.

 

Scope of the Problem

Many people in British Columbia have experienced an episode of temporary bodily pain that makes the everyday activities of standing, walking or sleeping difficult.

Every year, tens of thousands of British Columbians are referred by their family physicians to see an Orthopaedic surgeon because their pain did not go away.

Measuring the Wait

The orthopaedic surgeons in BC currently fund an initiative to collect their patient’s wait times from their office electronic medical records, which are also used to manage their wait lists and book patients for consultation visits and surgery

Waiting in Pain for the Consultation

Many orthopaedic surgeons in BC, after receiving their request for a consultation from the family physician, will triage the patient based on medical urgency. If the referral is accepted by the surgeon, the patient is added to their consultation wait list.

Between April 1^st 2016 and March 31^st 2017 we recorded 16,632 consultations performed by Orthopaedic Surgeons in BC at the request of referring physicians. Half of the patients waited longer than 21 weeks.  1663 patients waited longer then 64 weeks for their consultation.

Waiting in Pain for Surgery.

We recorded 3885 patients who had surgery in fiscal 2016-17. Half of the patients longer then 33 weeks form the time they signed their consents for surgery. 389 patients waited longer then 78 weeks from the time they signed their consents.

Half of these 3885 patients waited longer then 61 weeks from the time they were first referred by their family doctor to their day of surgery.

All health regions in BC had similarly long wait times

Failure to acknowledge the Scope of the Problem

We call upon our elected officials and civil servants to acknowledge the widespread problems with timely access to Orthopaedic consultation and surgery. The BC health care system needs major reform if BC citizens are to receive timely access to care.