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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'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.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.