Manitoba's surgical backlog continues to grow

Manitoba’s diagnostic and surgical backlog has grown to nearly 168,000 cases.

On Tuesday, Doctors Manitoba revealed its updated pandemic backlog numbers, which show that the backlog has grown by 6,300 cases compared to last month’s estimate.

The organization noted this reflects the impacts Omicron has had on the province’s hospitals.

“Physicians are encouraged by recent updates suggesting surgical volumes are returning to normal in many hospitals, though pre-pandemic volumes alone won't help to clear the massive backlog,” said Kristjan Thompson, president of Doctors Manitoba, in a news release.

“New capacity must be added to help those Manitobans who are still left waiting in pain and uncertainty."

The pandemic backlog is now at 167,877 diagnostic and surgical procedures, which includes:

• 54,820 surgeries as of January 2022. This is an increase of 2,493 compared to last month’s estimate;
• 45,251 diagnostic imaging procedures as of January 2022. This is an increase of 2,762 compared to last month; and
• 67,816 other diagnostic procedures, including allergy tests, endoscopies, mammograms, sleep disorder studies and lung function tests, as of February 2022. This is an increase of 1,047 cases compared to last month’s estimate.

The surgical and diagnostic backlog dashboard can be found online. 

ESTIMATES TO BE REVIEWED

Doctors Manitoba noted that over the next several weeks it will be working on a comprehensive analysis to offer a more refined estimate of the work that will be required to clear the backlog.

"After two long years of repeated disruptions to surgeries and diagnostic procedures, it's important to gauge how much capacity is needed to clear the backlog and ensure that Manitobans get the care they need," Thompson said.

“While we are confident our estimates have captured the total surgeries and tests missed during the pandemic, a proportion of these missed procedures may no longer be required by the patients who would have, and who should have, received them."

The organization noted there are several reasons that procedures that were not completed earlier in the pandemic may no longer be required, including alternative tests or treatments being used.

Doctors Manitoba will consult with specialty physicians to inform its analysis.

Wab Kinew, leader of the Manitoba NDP, said Tuesday the government has not done enough. Kinew said this is a problem that needs a solution, and said a key step is setting a milestone date.

“At the end of the day, when someone is waiting in pain for surgery or for a test what they really want to know is, how long is that wait going to be? When can they stop the suffering? When can they get the answers from the test?" Kinew said.

"Setting a backlog date, a date by which to clear the back log will, help give people that clarity.” 

A spokesperson for the province said the Diagnostic and Surgical Recovery Task Force will be providing an update next week.