Ontario expanding number and range of surgeries offered at for-profit clinics – CBC

Premier Doug Ford says move is necessary to improve surgery wait times

Jan 16, 2023

Ontario is significantly expanding the number and range of medical procedures performed in privately run clinics as the province deals with a surgical backlog made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The change will be introduced over three phases. The first will see surgical and diagnostic clinics in Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo and Windsor perform an additional 14,000 cataract operations each year, representing about 25 per cent of the province’s current wait list for the procedure.

Next, more private clinics will be able to offer MRI and CT imaging, as well as colonoscopies and endoscopies.

“These procedures will be non-urgent, low-risk and minimally invasive and, in addition to shortening wait times, will allow hospitals to focus their efforts and resources on more complex and high-risk surgeries,” the province said in a news release.

The government intends that by 2024, the third phase will see hip and knee replacements performed at for-profit clinics.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-jones-health-surgeries-private-clinics-1.6715117