More than 9,000 people on wait lists for cataract surgery in Waterloo-Wellington

There are more than 9,000 people on wait lists for cataract surgery at local hospitals.

That's more than half of the 16,000 patients waiting to have their elective surgeries or procedures rescheduled in Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County.

Cataract surgery is considered an elective surgery and the procedure was most recently paused in hospitals across the province as the Omicron variant caused COVID-19 case numbers — and hospitalizations due to the virus — to surge.

Doctors and seniors advocates say they're concerned as longer wait times for cataract surgery can seriously impact the health and lifestyles of older people.

"I've had patients who have had struggles with depth perception because of cataracts and have fallen," Dr. Chryssa McAlister, an eye surgeon in Waterloo, told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. It can limit their ability to drive and take part in leisure activities they love. 

"Golf or watching television or doing needlework, those are really important to patients as they get older," McAlister said. 

McAlister is the co-division head of ophthalmology with the Waterloo Regional Eye Program and a staff ophthalmologist at St. Mary's General Hospital and Grand River Hospital, both in Kitchener.

She says each year thousands of cataract removals are done at St. Mary's General, Cambridge Memorial and Guelph General and even before COVID-19, patients often had to wait to have the surgery done.

Last week, hospitals in Waterloo-Wellington said nearly 16,000 patients were waiting for surgeries or procedures. Specifically, as of Feb. 8: 

On Feb. 10, Ontario's chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore lifted Directive 2, which allowed more procedures to resume in hospitals. In an email to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario Health's media relations team said the province is currently at 70 per cent of 2019 surgical volumes.

Lee Fairclough, president of St. Mary's General Hospital, acknowledged patients have expressed frustration with the hospital about having to wait for all the procedures that were put on hold.

But occupancy in hospitals remains high, she said during a regional media briefing on Friday. As of Tuesday, there were 75 people in Waterloo region's three hospitals who were infectious with COVID-19.

"As we do plan that ramp up [of surgeries], it will be a gradual one," she said.

"All of our hospitals in the Waterloo-Wellington area will likely start with day procedures first as our starting point and as we're able to free some of the bed capacity, restart some of those other procedures."