'All hands on deck': Task force to release new tool measuring Manitoba's surgical, diagnostic backlog
A provincial task force is teaming up with Doctors Manitoba to release a new tool that will help Manitobans monitor the pandemic backlog of surgeries and diagnostic tests.
On Wednesday, Dr. Peter MacDonald, chair of Manitoba's Diagnostic and Surgical Recovery Task Force steering committee, said the task force has been working with Doctors Manitoba to develop a new online dashboard that will report surgical and diagnostic wait times.
"This will give Manitobans a broad view of the work that we are doing, where we have made progress and where we still have improvements to make," MacDonald said.
Dr. Kristjan Thompson, past president and board chair of Doctors Manitoba, said for months the organization has been reporting estimated backlog numbers separate from the task force, but said they are now looking forward to joining forces.
"It is an all hands on deck approach. We are all working together to clear this massive backlog," Thompson said.
He said most recent estimates show the backlog is somewhere between 102,000 to 128,000 cases, including between 32,000 and 40,000 surgeries, 12,000 to 17,000 diagnostic imaging tests, and 58,000 to 72,000 other procedures.
"This is still a very significant number," he said, adding Doctors Manitoba has also made a concerning discovery in wait times.
"We found that for nearly all procedures, patients are waiting longer today than they did before the pandemic, so we need to do better."
He said things are moving in the right direction, but there is still lots of work that needs to be done to catch up.
"Once we catch up, we really need to review and evaluate the need for testing and surgeries within this province every year, to ensure that our health system is increasing capacity to meet this growing need," he said.
David Matear, the provincial executive director of the Diagnostic and Surgical Recovery Task Force, said the online dashboard has been in development since May and is expected to be released in July. He said the information in the dashboard will be updated monthly.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW What Canada is doing about the toxic forever chemicals in drinking water
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Arrest made, manslaughter charge pending in 2022 death of Calgary toddler
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
Prince William returns to public duties after wife Kate's cancer revelation
Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson Airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Here's why experts don't think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai's downpour
Scientists say it's highly unlikely cloud seeding is responsible for the heavy rains that have caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates this month, and that climate change is the more likely culprit.