More than 145,000 patients are waiting for an operation Quebec gives itself two years to catch up

Funny Lewsk
Press

Health and Social Services Minister Christian Dube on Thursday outlined the key objectives of his strategy for obtaining surgical interventions. The health crisis, especially the first wave in the spring of 2020, increased the waiting list, while operating theaters sometimes ran to a maximum of 50% of their capacity.

Before the epidemic, about 125,000 people were waiting for surgery. Today, their number is about 145,000, of which 47,000 have been waiting more than six months. Another 19,000 have been waiting more than a year. So the task will be huge.

Quebec hopes to return to the “pre-epidemic stage” by March 2023. 2021 should allow authorities to “stabilize” surgical operations at a 100% rate. This level is almost 90%, as the epidemic in Quebec has lost momentum. About 26,000 operations are carried out per month.

By October 2021, that number will rise to 36,000. In particular by 2022, we would like to undertake 5,000 additional activities per month to achieve an encouraging, average 40,000 monthly activities.

“Otherwise it takes time and courage to do so,” said Assistant Minister of Health and Social Services D.S.^Re Lucy Obterny.

“It simply came to our notice then. We know this, but I think this is our job, and our role is to make it real, “said Health Minister Christian Dube.

Quebec offers summer to identify solutions that can be used to achieve its objectives. The capture plan should be implemented in the fall. Mr. Dubai wanted health workers – at the end of their rope – to go on vacation. He recalled that the vaccination campaign continued throughout the summer.

“What we don’t want to do, especially in this time of epidemics, is to bring to the fore the solutions we impose on our partners,” he said. Dube explained.

The Legalt government is still in talks with health network employees to renew their collective agreement. Employment contracts have been suspended in the event of a health emergency.

Quebec has signed 25 agreements with private medical clinics. The private sector will continue to be “an important part of the solution”^Re Optrney. The “majority” contracts with these clinics are for two years.

The implementation of this future capture plan has not yet been calculated, but Minister Christian Dupe has argued that it is an “economic issue”[était] Not a stock ”.

Provide for the “Invisible” list

The health minister explained that the summer would allow patients coming from an “invisible list” to come before the doctor they attend. Over the past year, authorities have noticed a 24% drop in suggestions and requests for action, compared to pre-epidemic levels.

It is therefore not superfluous to estimate that “thousands” of cases could be added to the current waiting list.

It is believed that those currently on the list for more than six months will receive “priority” for surgery “in the next few months”. Minister Christian Dubey went a little further and reaffirmed his belief that “by the end of the summer, these people will be in touch.”

Once the plan to measure progress is finalized, Mr said his teams will be able to follow the reduction in the waiting list in real time. Dupe promises. For cancer patients, the average duration of a surgical intervention in Quebec is 17 days, despite the infection, d.^Re Be careful.

The goal is to reduce the average waiting time to six months or less for all other activities. The target is partially achieved by March 2023. To achieve this fully, d^Re Obadrney estimates it will take another year, which will take us to March 2024.