About 120 surgeries postponed over 4 days in N.S. amid Omicron wave
CBC
Tonya Porter was devastated to learn less than 10 hours before she was scheduled to go under the knife for a life-changing spinal surgery that the procedure was being postponed.
Porter, a single mother who rearranged her life in anticipation of being in the hospital for three to five days before a six-month recovery, said she was told her surgery scheduled for Jan. 6 could not go ahead because of nurse shortages.
"I'm devastated and I'm also really scared for my health," the 38-year-old woman said in a recent interview from her home in Halifax.
Porter is not alone. Between Jan. 4 and 7, approximately 120 surgeries across the province were postponed, according to the province's health authority.
That includes approximately 50 surgeries in both the central and eastern health zones and fewer than 10 in the western and northern zones.
The authority said the surgeries included orthopedic, general, ophthalmology, ear, nose, throat, cardiac, dental and urological procedures, as well as some endoscopy and gastroscopy procedures.
"Hospitals throughout Nova Scotia continue to see higher than normal emergency visits and demands for hospital beds, including increasing COVID-19-related admissions and staffing pressures, which are resulting in delays in care and service reductions," Nova Scotia Heath said in a statement.
"The majority of these surgeries are those that would have required hospital admissions, however, some day surgeries were also impacted."
Porter has spondylolisthesis and requires a lower lumbar spinal fusion because she has a vertebra out of place in her lower back, which is putting pressure on the nerves that impact her feet and legs.
Her bladder nerves are also nearby, and she's been told the issue could permanently impact her bladder function if gone untreated.
Porter said her condition, which she has dealt with for two years, has greatly impacted her mobility, and she suffers from pain and numbness. She said her surgeon described the procedure she requires as "urgent."
She waited eight months for an MRI ahead of the surgery, and decided to travel to Antigonish for that since the wait for an MRI in Halifax would have been even longer.
Porter, an artist and small business owner, recently aired her frustrations with the health-care system on social media. She has since heard from dozens of nurses who feel overworked amid widespread staffing shortages that predate the pandemic.
"There needs to be something more done. Why isn't the government hiring more nurses?" said Porter.
