Almost 16 million medical procedures built up in Ontario pandemic backlog
The pandemic has created a backlog of an estimated 15.9 million medical procedures – more than one for every resident in Ontario, according to the Ontario Medical Association.
That’s in addition to the wait list of procedures that existed before the pandemic began.
“Three serious waves of infections have created a lengthy backlog of surgeries, diagnostic exams and other health-care procedures,” OMA President Dr. Adam Kassam said in a statement Wednesday.
To track the backlog, the OMA compared OHIP billing data for six procedures in 2020 to the same time period in 2021.
The OMA found the most significant backlog in the following procedures:
- MRIs: 477,301
- CT scans: 269,683
- Cataract surgery: 90,136
- Knee replacements: 38,263
- Hip replacements: 16,506
- Coronary artery bypass grafts: 3,163
If Ontario’s medical community worked at 120 per cent capacity, it would take them the following time periods to clear the backlog:
- MRIs: 10 months
- CT scans: 4 months
- Cataract surgeries: 21 months
- Knee replacements: 22 months
- Hip replacements: 14 months
- Cardiac surgery: 10 months
The bottleneck of procedures put on pause is more severe in community settings than hospitals, which according to the OMA, suggests that Ontarians are deferring visits to family doctors, a crucial stage in screening for chronic conditions.
By comparison, community settings have a backlog of 9.6 million procedures, while the backlog at hospitals is 6.5 million.
“We have also heard from community-based family doctors and specialists, who are reporting conditions that were left undiagnosed during the pandemic as patients avoided seeking help,” Dr. Kassam said.
On top of the backlog of unaddressed procedures and undiagnosed illness, Ontario’s doctors are expecting to see a surge in mental health and addiction care that will grow for years. After the 1918 influenza, mental health diagnoses linked to the pandemic continued for six years.
In a recent report, Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office found it will take more than three years and $1.3 billion to work through the backlog of surgeries and procedures.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.