Ontario has a pandemic backlog of 1 million surgeries. One group has a prescription for change – CBC
Almost 22 million health services backlogged, says Ontario Medical Association
May 25, 2022
Christopher Christin is looking forward to finally getting his hip replaced in mid-June after a year of suffering worsening pain while on a waiting list for surgery.
The operation should allow the Ottawa retiree to return to the walks, bike rides and exercises he was forced to stop. He’s also hoping it’ll end years of dealing with a health-care system that, even before the pandemic, didn’t always make it easy for him to get help.
“I’ve waited approximately five years, but that has a lot to do with the previous doctors, finding the right doctor to do the operation, and COVID,” said Christin, 68.
Ontarians like Christin have been navigating a health-care system that the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) says was strained even before COVID-19, and has been pushed into a crisis because of it. During the provincial election campaign, the OMA says parties need to commit to clearing a pandemic backlog of almost 22 million health-care services — which includes one million surgeries — to keep things from worsening even further.
