'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
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.