Manitoba announces new steps to address surgical backlog numbers

The Manitoba government is taking steps to improve access to health-care in the province, including increasing orthopedic surgeries at Concordia Hospital to help those who need hip and knee surgeries.

The Manitoba government is taking steps to improve access to health-care in the province, including increasing orthopedic surgeries at Concordia Hospital to help those who need hip and knee surgeries.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced the expansion at a news conference on Wednesday, saying the diagnostic and surgical recovery task force is looking to find ways to address delays in surgeries and procedures.

To help deal with these delays, the province is expanding Concordia’s orthopedic surgery program by adding a fifth operating room, recruiting an orthopedic surgeon, adding four inpatient beds and investing in anesthesia staff.

The province expects to have these expansions, which will increase capacity by up to 1,000 surgeries per year, in place by the end of 2022.

The Concordia Foundation is leading fundraising efforts to support the required hospital renovations and improvements to increase joint-replacement surgery capacity.

Along with the Concordia expansion, Manitoba is improving access to care for about 900 Manitobans living with back pain and waiting for an assessment by the Spine Assessment Clinic.

The province is investing $400,000 in the clinic, which will increase the number of assessments by adding four new physical therapists.