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Manitoba establishes task force to deal with diagnostic and surgical backlogs

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The Manitoba government is establishing a task force that will help address the province’s diagnostic and surgical backlogs.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon made the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday, saying the task force will identify the priority of needs of patients and implement local and out-of-province services as a temporary measure.

“The task force steering committee and the project team will identify the most impactful strategies to make further strides in providing Manitobans with access to the safest and most timely care possible,” the health minister said.

The task force includes health-care professional and experts from across the country, who have already started working to implement solutions to deal with wait lists.

The province said these solutions include:

  • Creating a centralized information management system for health-care providers that will include surgical and diagnostic wait list information to streamline when and where surgeries and tests can be done;
  • Ensuring health-care professionals are working to the full scope of their practice;
  • Providing monthly updates to ensure Manitobans receive timely, consistent and transparent information;
  • Negotiating agreements with specialized health-care providers both inside and outside of the province who can increase the number of surgeries and services performed; and
  • Finding patients who are ready for their procedures and can travel to other jurisdictions where it could be performed sooner.

According to the province, the Diagnostic and Surgical Recovery Task Force will include people with expertise in surgical and diagnostic services, analysis and evaluation, and project management.

“We know this work must be a top priority,” Gordon said. “In fact, the task force project leader has already begun meeting with health-care system leaders in Manitoba and looking at some of those short-term improvements that can be put in place as quickly as possible.”

Manitoba has also established a steering committee to determine the direction of the task force and to help access expertise in the health-care system. The steering committee includes doctors, nurses, and patient and citizen representatives.

Gordon noted that Dr. Peter MacDonald, a surgeon, past president of the Canadian Orthopedics Association, vice-president of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and chief innovation and research officer of the Pan Am Clinic, will be the chair of the task force.

In the New Year, the task force will release an initial report with analysis of the current situation, a summary of progress to date, and how success will be measured.

“I want to be clear, the task force begins the work from a good place,” Gordon said.

“It will build on the work that is already being done in Manitoba to address wait times and will grapple with the continued challenges on our health-care system caused by COVID-19.”

As of Tuesday, Doctors Manitoba estimated the province’s surgical and diagnostic backlog has grown to 152,000 cases.  

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