Manitoba doctors want action to deal with surgery backlog: report
Doctors in Manitoba are asking for action to address the surgery and diagnostic test backlog created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new report done by Doctors Manitoba, released Thursday, estimates the backlog includes more than 110,000 procedures.
The report says that total includes surgeries, some of which are serious and life-saving.
Other procedures that are affected include MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds, endoscopies, mammograms, and allergy tests.
The group is asking for the province to commit to a fixed date to address the backlog, create a task force to oversee the issue, and publicly report the size of the backlog monthly.
One of the largest barriers, according to about 1000 doctors surveyed, is a nursing shortage.
On March 31, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced the province would invest at least $50 million to reduce wait times for procedures delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as part of Budget 2021.
Uzoma Asagwara, NDP Critic for Healthcare, responded to the report with a written statement that said the pandemic has put Manitobans healthcare on hold.
"It's shocking and reckless that fifteen months into the pandemic the government still doesn't have a plan to address the 110,000 plus backlog for surgeries and tests, many of which are serious and life saving,” the statement reads.
“After years of PC healthcare cuts, it's clear we don't have the capacity to address this backlog. It will take years to fix the damage the PCs have caused to the health system.”
Asagwara goes onto write that the government needs act now and work with frontline healthcare staff, hire more nurses, be transparent about the data by publishing regular reports on surgery backlogs and set a date for when the backlog will be cleared.
The full report can be read below.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.