The Ford government has taken an initiative to increase the use of private surgical clinics in view of the increase in incomplete surgeries due to Covid-19. Doctors in Ontario’s regulatory body have warned that this will lead to hospital staffing shortages.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario issued this warning in the wake of Premier Doug Ford’s statement. Doug Ford told reporters the province needed independent centers to ease pressure on hospitals.
Ford, however, did not stress that these centers would not take away hospital resources. Because, they will be managed by the same doctors who are in their spare time.
Although the registrar and chief executive officer of the college. Nancy Whitmore said in a statement that any increase in the use of private surgical centers would challenge hospitals. In the meantime, these hospitals are struggling to cope with the increasing number of patients.
He said, “Many years ago we were consulted and we were of the opinion that a single surgical center should be affiliated with the hospital system to ensure continuity of service and patient safety. We also expressed the view that this is not a solution to the healthcare crisis and will exacerbate our workforce crisis in the healthcare sector. At the same time, the waiting time to get hospital-based emergency services will also increase as a result. We are not involved in the recent discussions and are not aware of the announcements made and implementation in this regard.
There are currently 13 privately operated surgical centers in Ontario, and Doug Ford claims the model is already working to reduce pressure on hospitals. However, he did not say anything about whether the province is going to open additional centers. But Ontario is turning to for-profit private clinics for cataract, knee and hip replacements, multiple senior government sources told The Canadian Press. This initiative is to reduce incomplete surgeries in the province.
Sources say the first phase aims to increase the capacity of existing private clinics to increase cataract surgery. The second phase will focus on less complex orthopedic surgeries like knee and hip replacements. These will be done in new or existing private clinics.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Nurses Association opposes the increased use of private surgical clinics, saying such expansion will only line the pockets of investors. Nothing more will happen.
