Winnipegger considers private hip surgery due to operating room delays in Manitoba
A Winnipeg man living in pain is considering getting his hip replacement done privately after learning of operating room delays in Manitoba.
“I have no quality of life right now. I’m in pain. I can’t even walk to the end of my driveway without the use of a cane or crutches. I don’t sleep at night,” said Robert Massey.
Massey learned he would need his left hip replaced in September 2020. He decided to book the surgery in Southern Health because the wait times were shorter. Massey said in Winnipeg it would take five to seven months just to meet the surgeon, and another 12-17 months to get the surgery.
In the Southern Health region, there was a wait of one to two months to meet the surgeon and another two to five months to get the surgery.
“I said let’s give it a try,” Massey told CTV News Tuesday.
In June, Massey said he met with his surgeon who works at Boundary Trails Health Centre and consented to the surgery at that time. He was told he would be contacted in a few months with a surgery date, but he has not heard anything.
Massey has since been emailing with staff at Boundary Trails and was recently told there have been delays in booking procedures.
“That’s when she informed me that there were OR closures, surgeries have been cancelled, and it’s most likely in the New Year (for a surgery date).”
Massey now estimates he is looking at February or March for a surgery date, while his pain is getting worse the longer he waits.
“If I have to go through five more months of this, I understand COVID is affecting the healthcare system, staff are choosing not to go to work because they don’t want to get vaccinated,” he said.
“I think they forget about the faces of the people that they are supposed to be serving. We’re the silent victims of this COVID.”
In a written statement, Southern Health-Santé Sud acknowledged the strain that COVID-19 has had on patients who have contracted the virus, their families, and those who have had surgeries and procedures postponed.
“We have made the decision at Boundary Trails Health Centre to implement a surgical slowdown by decreasing one slate per day, beginning October 18, to allow for redeployment of staff to areas of greater need,” reads the statement.
October 18 is the day the vaccine mandate took effect in Manitoba for front-facing public employees including health-care workers.
“The one slate per day surgical slowdown is split between specialties and based on the number of urgent/semi-urgent cases they have, as well as wait times. Ramping down surgery and redeploying staff will ensure we are prepared to respond to the potential for increased demand on bed occupancy, as required,” the statement went on to say.
Southern Health-Santé Sud said it continues to monitor the situation closely and plans are in place at Boundary Trails Health Centre to ensure it can deliver high-quality health services to the community during the fourth wave.
“We continue to encourage all Manitobans who have not been vaccinated against COVID to do so as quickly as possible,” the statement reads. “Vaccines are safe, they work and they do more than just protect you and others from the virus. They also help to protect the capacity of our health system and health-care providers to care for all Manitobans, not just those with COVID.”
Massey is now looking to go to Alberta to get the hip replacement done privately. He said it will cost about $30,000 to get the procedure done there.
“When you have no quality of life, (when) your mental health is suffering, you can’t put a price on that. If that’s what it means to spend that kind of money to get it done, so be it,” he said.
“It’s been 13 months, but the pain has been so bad in the past 3-4 months, I haven’t been sleeping and I’ve been off work.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.