LILLEY: Ontario to expand cataract surgeries by nearly 20,000 in year

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The Ford government will increase the number of cataract surgeries being performed in Ontario by nearly 20,000 over the next year. That’s one step in the government’s plan to expand access to care while reducing surgical wait times.

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The full details of the plan will be unveiled at a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the Kensington Eye Institute in Toronto. Documents, obtained by the Toronto Sun, detail much of the plan, which includes what the government describes as, “further leveraging community surgical and diagnostic centres.”

Under the first of a three-step plan, the government will allow eye-care facilities in Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa to perform cataract surgeries which will be covered by OHIP. This will see 14,000 additional surgeries performed each year, while existing centres working within the system will receive funding for an additional 4,800 cataract surgeries per year.

In addition, there will be 900 other eye surgeries funded through existing community clinics – a mix of private and not-for-profit facilities – as well as other surgeries and testing procedures. According to the government documents, that includes 1,000 gynecological surgeries, 2,845 plastic surgeries focused on areas such as soft tissue repair and more than 49,000 hours of MRI and CT scans

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Premier Doug Ford has said repeatedly that anyone accessing services in such clinics will pay with their OHIP card, not their credit card — a promise government officials say will be kept under this plan.

While leaks of Ford’s plan has already drawn criticism from some in the medical field, his announcement has the backing of the Ontario Hospital Association, the Ontario Medical Association as well as prominent surgeons and executives at some of the province’s biggest hospitals, including St. Michael’s and University Health Network in Toronto.

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Step two of the government’s plan, coming as soon as the end of this year, will see colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures added to the list of insured services covered in community clinics with the possibility of more cataract, MRI and CT procedures being added. It’s the next step that will face the most resistance, as the government further expands what surgeries can be performed in community clinics.

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In February, the government will table legislation to amend the Independent Health Facilities Act to allow a greater range of MRI and CT diagnostic imaging to be carried out in these clinics. The legislation, if passed, would also allow knee and hip surgeries to be carried out in community clinics, perhaps as early as 2024.

In July 2021, the province announced plans to increase hospital funding by $324 million to allow 67,000 more surgeries to be performed and 135,000 more diagnostic tests. That strategy was part of tackling the surgical backlog of more than 200,000 procedures, a number that has stayed persistently high before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no doubt that we need more access to surgeries and in a timely manner; this plan to use community clinics appears to be part of the solution.

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Existing independent health facilities, spread out across virtually all communities in Ontario, performed more than 26,000 publicly insured services last year, according to the province. These services include abortion, bone mineral testing, ultrasounds and mammograms, among other procedures.

Using independent health facilities, be they private or not-for-profit, to perform more surgeries and diagnostic testing is already happening in Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Quebec began contracting surgeries to private clinics during the pandemic and saw more than 20,000 procedures in the first six months of the program.

It only makes sense that Ontario would also take steps that would take pressure off hospitals, speed up access to care, and give patients what they need. It’s taken too long to get here and while slow moving, the Ford government’s plan is headed in the right direction.

blilley@postmedia.com

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