Dr. Kevin Wing, an orthopaedic surgeon operating in Vancouver, BC, remarks on how people in BC with orthopaedic foot and ankle issues have to wait an unreasonable time for surgery and suffer as they wait.
Category: Video
Orthopaedic Surgery In BC- Overview
Many innovative approaches and new programs are under way in BC that offer solutions to provide the best and most timely orthopaedic care. These programs need sufficient hospital resources to make sure all orthopaedic patients can get timely surgical solutions when needed.
CONVERSATION THAT MATTERS
featuring Dr. Kevin Wing
Conversation That Matters
June 3, 2017 featuring Dr. Kevin Wing
This episode of Conversation That Matters features Dr. Kevin Wing, the Past President of the BC Orthopaedic Association who talks about wait times and what he and his colleagues are doing to reduce the wait and relieve pain.
Are you or someone you know living with chronic pain? Have you ever wondered why it takes so long to see an orthopaedic surgeon? Then, why it takes longer still to get a date for surgery? How come someone in a car accident, or an on the job injury, gets into surgery within hours, but you wait, and wait, and wait?
Conversations That Matter is a partner program with the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University produced by veteran Broadcaster Stuart McNish each week.
Kevin Wing – SWING ROOMS
Dr. Kevin Wing takes us for a look inside the highly-efficient orthopaedic unit at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC. The methods and set-up have dramatically speeded up care for orthopaedic patients.
ReBalance A NEW MODEL OF CARE
Have a tour of this one-stop shop for all orthopaedic care in Victoria, BC. CEO and Founder Stefan Fletcher and orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Peter Dryden show us how this innovative program has dramatically reduced wait times for patients to have their first orthopaedic consult.
Kate Ball – RESTORING FUNCTION
Dr. Kate Ball, an orthopaedic surgeon operating in Vernon, BC, points out how the agony of orthopaedic patients waiting for years for simple surgical procedures can be alleviated. Unfortunately, too many still wait too long for these procedures and it affects their lives significantly.
Derek Plausinis – REDUCE WAIT TIMES
Kelowna, BC orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Derek Plausinis talks about the need for coordinated care, both surgical and non-surgical, for all orthopaedic patients. Long wait times and patients living in pain are the result when this coordination is lacking.
Darius Viskontas – IDLE DOCTORS
Dr. Darius Viskontas, an orthopaedic surgeon at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, BC, describes why there are highly-trained orthopaedic surgeons looking for work in Canada.
Mike Moran – 7 HOURS A WEEK
Prince George, BC orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Mike Moran describes that being allocated only seven hours per week in the operating room means the valuable time and training of highly-skilled orthopaedic surgeons goes to waste.
Three-quarters of BC Orthopaedic Surgeons Favour Hybrid Healthcare System
Almost 80% of respondents to a recent BC Orthopaedic Association survey said they support Dr. Brian Day’s court case asking for private insurance. Over three-quarters (76%) favour having a hybrid private/public healthcare system like that of the United Kingdom, and almost 58% want to see substantive and innovative changes to the current system. Not one respondent opted for “status quo.”
“We recently conducted an anonymous on-line survey of our membership about the important issue of ‘access to care’. We had 82 responses; an excellent return from the 150 practicing orthopaedic surgeons in our province. The results were not surprising, but provide quantifiable information about our experience that we are keen to share with the media, the public and our patients,” said Dr. Kevin Wing, Past President of the BCOA and an orthopaedic surgeon at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.
The majority (66%) of BCOA members responding to the survey do not believe their non-emergency patients are seen for their first diagnostic consultation within a reasonable period of time, and even more of them (83%) do not believe their patients get surgery within a reasonable period of time.
Over half (57%) of the respondents said the average waiting time for them to see these GP-referred patients is one to six months. Another 40% said it was their experience that this period was between seven and 18 months.
Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (73%) said their patients wait between four months to a year for surgery after the initial diagnosis. Only 7% get surgery in under three months and a similar number (6%) wait one to two years.
Almost one-quarter (24%) of respondents spend 100% of their time on MSP or WorkSafeBC patients and another 64% spend only up to 10% of their time on work that is not MSP or WSBC.
“Our membership believes this issue to be of vital importance to everyone in our province and indeed, to all Canadians. We are dedicated to the health and safety of our patients and always want to be part of working towards improving our healthcare systems,” Dr. Wing said.