COVID-19 creates cancer care backlogs that could take years to resolve
CBC
The senior medical director of Nova Scotia's cancer care program says it will be several years before backlogs in the system related to COVID-19 can be addressed, and even then, there will be long-term implications for patients.
"I don't think we can look at this as reaching a peak and then quickly things will get back to normal," Dr. Helmut Hollenhorst said in an interview Monday.
"Even if COVID suddenly disappears tomorrow, it will take years to catch up with the backlog and to rebuild the system."
Hollenhorst said the pandemic has only exacerbated a problem that already existed, and it is one that's common among cancer programs in the country: insufficient resources.
Spikes in COVID-19 cases in the last two years have resulted in periods where various treatments, procedures and clinics were either outright cancelled or scaled back in Nova Scotia. Cancer care has been no different, although urgent surgeries went ahead whenever possible.
But during the Omicron wave of COVID-19, which has seen record highs of people hospitalized in the province either with or because of the disease, Hollenhorst said there have been complications for cancer patients awaiting surgery.
"Patients having big surgeries would require ICU beds, and if these beds are not available, the surgery cannot go ahead and the treatment will be cancelled and the patient would be rebooked as soon as possible," he said.
The situation has been further challenged by staff availability. Hollenhorst said during the fourth wave, staffing levels in the cancer program have been down by as much as 25 per cent due to a combination of people being required to isolate and others being redeployed within the system to areas such as emergency departments, COVID-19 units and long-term care.
The system has also lost a lot of experienced, sub-specialized health-care workers to retirement and burnout, said Hollenhorst. While the bodies can be replaced, it takes time to replace the lost experience and expertise.
"All of us, we are in cancer care because we want to help patients and we want to provide care, and we continue to do this. But our resources and our systems are very strained and our heath-care professionals are tired," he said.
One of the biggest challenges throughout the pandemic for cancer patients has been timely access to testing, such as biopsies, screening and diagnostic imaging.
In some instances, Hollenhorst said people have also put off visiting the doctor or hospital out of fear of encountering COVID-19, leading to the late detection of cancers that otherwise might have been caught in the early stages.
Ongoing national modelling paints a concerning picture.
"The impact of COVID will cost lives," said Hollenhorst.
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