Manitobans facing long delays for hip surgeries see 'no hope on the horizon'
CBC
What Robert Lamont wants most is to be able to do the ordinary things Canadians were forced to go without for long stretches of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it isn't public health restrictions that are stopping him from playing with his six young grandchildren or going shopping in person. It's his hip.
The 80-year-old was first referred to a Manitoba orthopedic surgeon in October 2019 and told it would be about 14 months before his surgery. The date was pushed back again and again as hospital resources were diverted to COVID-19 patients.
His condition is deteriorating daily while he waits. So is his optimism.
"I feel as though I could go into a really deep depression," says Lamont. "I'm fed up with it. There's no hope on the horizon at all."
As of last month, the advocacy group Doctors Manitoba estimated a backlog of 130,000 surgeries and diagnostic procedures in Manitoba, up 20,000 from June. And things could get worse before they get better.
Earlier this month, the province announced more surgeries — scheduled for Nov. 19 or later — would be put on hold due to rising case counts and hospitalizations amid the province's fourth wave.
Out of frustration, some Manitobans have paid out of pocket for surgeries elsewhere lately.
Lamont says as a taxpayer he doesn't think that should be necessary.
He's one of the roughly 8,100 people as of last month on the hip and knee replacement waitlist, which is more than any other surgery category, according to Doctors Manitoba.
WATCH | Robert Lamont says he's losing hope after 2 years of waiting:
Lamont is limited in what he can do these days, so all of the housework, shovelling and shopping falls to his 73-year-old wife, Hazel Lamont.
She said her husband's quality of life is declining.
"I just see Robert's pain getting worse and really, no action," she said. "I can't see anything happening for another year for us."
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