Surgical volumes hit high point last year, reducing backlog, but doctors say there's still work to do

The number of surgeries performed in the province between April 2023 to March 2024 rebounded, for the first time, above pre-pandemic levels but Doctors Manitoba said the lingering COVID-19 surgery backlog is still "significant" and the recovery is proving to be slow.

Doctors Manitoba said surgical volumes in the province plummeted during the pandemic by as much as 20 per cent.

But a newly released report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) indicates the number of surgeries completed in the province in the last fiscal year exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time, with 102,227 surgeries performed.

The surgical volume last year was only one per cent higher than before the pandemic, with 1,107 more completed surgeries more than the period from April 2019 to March 2020.

Doctors Manitoba president and vascular surgeon Dr. Randy Guzman told reporters at a news conference over Zoom Thursday that one per cent increase in surgical volume is "still not enough" in the backdrop of five to sex per cent population growth in the province since 2019.

"This 1,000-plus [surgeries] is not enough, we still have a lot of work to do," he said. 

Over the last three years, the backlog has soared to 41,267 cases. But factoring in the 1,107 surgeries over pre-pandemic levels performed in the last fiscal year, the cumulative pandemic backlog has been slashed to 40,160 cases.

"That's still a significant number, it's about 40 percent of the total volume [of surgeries] per year or five months of volume," he said. "There is still a significant backlog."

Keir Johnson, a spokesperson for Doctors Manitoba, said "it's very likely" the number of patients waiting to receive surgeries is sitting below 40,160 cases.

"It's very likely that some of the people who are waiting for those surgeries have deteriorated to the point that surgery is no longer an option," Johnson said.

"Some of these people may have passed away while they were waiting for surgery or doctors may have found a different treatment option." 

Data from the CIHI report shows Manitoba has the second-largest remaining surgery backlog at the moment among all Canadian provinces, except Quebec.

Guzman said there are "many layers" involved in clearing the existing surgical backlog but it boils down to addressing the shortage of staffing and resources in the health-care system, including "having enough family doctors and specialists" and addressing the need for diagnostics and specialized equipment in hospitals.

"Although we are recovering, it has been a bit slower," Guzman said. "Patients are obviously impacted with this."