Almost all surgeries postponed because of COVID-19 have now been completed, B.C. health minister says – CBC

More than 98% of patients who still wanted surgery after delays have now had their procedures

Dec 19, 2022

The B.C. government says almost all surgeries delayed during five waves of the COVID-19 pandemic have now been completed.

In a progress report released Monday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said surgery volumes are now above where they were before pandemic began.

“We’re showing that when surgeries are postponed, patients quickly have them rescheduled, and we’re demonstrating the strength of our B.C. surgical system to overcome challenge to get patients the surgeries they need,” Dix said in a news release.

Scheduled, non-urgent surgeries were first postponed on March 16, 2020, at the beginning of the first wave of the pandemic to prepare the medical system for COVID-19 patients. They have been paused on subsequent occasions because of new surges in the disease, extreme weather and staff shortages.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surgery-delays-covid-19-report-1.6691168