Ontario releases 3-step plan to invest in private care to reduce surgical backlog
CTV
Ontario has released a new three-step plan that will see some for-profit community surgical and diagnostic centres take on more responsibilities, including additional surgeries and other medical procedures.
Ontario has released a new three-step plan that will see some for-profit community surgical and diagnostic centres take on more responsibilities, including additional surgeries and other medical procedures.
Speaking to reporters Monday morning, Health Minister Sylvia Jones said this will help reduce wait times and eliminate surgical backlogs.
“We need to be bold, innovative and creative,” she said, adding that all of these procedures will be covered for patients under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).
“We need to build on the spirit of collaboration on display across the health-care sector.”
The first step would be to invest in “new partnerships with community surgical and diagnostic centres” to reduce the waitlist for cataract surgeries, ensuring 14,000 more surgeries will be performed each year. These centres include both not-for-profit and for-profit clinics.
The government will also invest more than $18 million in existing centres to cover other procedural care such as MRI and CT scans, ophthalmic surgeries, minimally invasive gynecological surgeries and plastic surgeries.
The second step involves a further expansion of “non-urgent, low-risk and minimally invasive” procedures. Little detail has been provided regarding what additional procedures will be included.
