'It's just talk': Patients waiting for surgery take new Manitoba task force to task for lack of timeline

Some Manitobans waiting for surgery say the provincial task force announcement offers them no timeline and no hope on when they can resume their lives again without pain. 

Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced Wednesday the steering committee that would tackle and oversee a growing surgical and diagnostic backlog in the province. The province estimates 30,000 people have had their surgeries delayed due to the pandemic. 

The task force will help bring more licensed practical nursing staff to surgery wards, provide monthly updates to Manitobans, negotiate agreements with health-care providers locally and out of province, and identify patients who are ready for procedures and can travel to another jurisdiction if the procedure can be performed there sooner. 

But no dates were given Wednesday for when the backlog would be cleared. 

"You have no long term plan. Because there is no long term plan," said Wendy Petersen, 67, of Brandon. 

She's been waiting for a knee replacement for about nine months. 

"The last time I saw my surgeon, he straight up told me it would be 18 months to two years. And they're as frustrated as their patients are," she said. 

She said the level of pain she's in fluctuates daily and she can't go on long walks anymore but despite that, she considers herself more fortunate than others on the list because she's still "fairly mobile." 

Doctors Manitoba estimates the current diagnostic and surgical backlog is now more than 156,000 surgeries and procedures. 

"To me that's inhumane, in the best of terms. I know people that are suffering much worse than I am and in much worse conditions than I am, both mentally and physically. I think sometimes people forget how it affects your mental health," she said.

She said she often feels depressed, especially because she can't plan for her future and the activities she'd like to do.

"I wonder to myself if it was one of their family members, one of the MLA family members or someone's family members of the premier's office. Would they look at the situation differently. I would certainly hope they would," she said. 

The government has set aside $50 million to address backlogs and wait times this year. On Wednesday, Gordon announced $8.8 million had been spent on cataract surgeries, echocardiograms and other procedures through other service providers. 

The task force intends to launch a public website in 2022 to show data and progress.