Two major hospitals cut surgical wait times by 21 per cent
Posted April 10, 2013 8:23 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Health officials say surgical waiting times at two major Vancouver hospitals have been cut by 21 per cent in the last year.
They also say the number of patients waiting more than a year for surgery at Vancouver General and UBC Hospitals has dropped by 69 per cent.
More than 300 patients have been waiting for surgery for more than a year, but that’s down from almost 1,300 on March 31, 2012.
Dr. Bas Masri, surgeon-in-chief and head of orthopedics at the two hospitals, says simple innovations have reduced wait times, including making sure surgeons’ bookings are up to date and prioritizing patients. “Eliminating duplications on wait lists and making sure that patients that been done elsewhere have been taken off the wait list. We worked on making sure that patients are done truly on a first come, first served basis so based on a certain priority. The patients that have been waiting longer get done before the patients who haven’t been waiting as long.”
Other measures included allocating operating-room time more equally among surgeons based on patient need.
“We also worked on efficiencies, so making sure that the right patient is done at the right site. So, if you’re very healthy and need an ambulatory procedure, then you get done at a highly efficient ambulatory centre.”
Masri says the hospitals were also able to speed up services under a program in which the provincial government pays hospitals extra if they treat more patients faster.
