Doctors Manitoba renews call for action as surgery backlog grows in province

Doctors Manitoba is renewing its calls to address the "staggering backlog" of postponed surgeries as new data suggests Manitoba had a greater drop in surgical procedures during the second wave of the pandemic than any other province.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information released a report on Thursday on the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many provinces cancelled planned surgeries in an attempt to save hospital resources for those who fell ill with the coronavirus.

The data suggests Manitoba was the only province that experienced a significant decrease in surgical volumes during the period of October to December 2020. There was a 29 per cent decrease in surgical volumes in Manitoba during that time compared to an average four per cent decrease across Canada, the report says.

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"By the second wave of the pandemic, most provinces had found ways to minimize the disruption to surgical services when faced with surges in COVID-19 admissions, but in Manitoba, thousands of surgeries were cancelled or postponed," Dr. Kristjan Thompson, president of Doctors Manitoba, said in a news release on Thursday.

"Thousands of patients have been affected, experiencing distress, complications and harm during extended waits for care."

CIHI data says Manitoba experienced a decrease of 18,398 surgical procedures in the first 10 months of the pandemic, a 22 per cent decrease from the same months in 2019.

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There was an 11 per cent decrease in cardiac surgeries and an eight per cent decrease in cancer surgeries.

Doctors Manitoba, which represents physicians in the province, said the CIHI report validates its own report on surgical backlogs in the province, which estimates there are 39,000 procedures that have been postponed since the pandemic began until May 2021.

There's also a backlog of 44,000 diagnostic imaging tests and 32,000 other procedures, like endoscopies and mammograms, the release says.

"Doctors are renewing our call for immediate action to address the backlog of over 110,000 surgeries and diagnostic tests as quickly as possible," Thompson said.

The Doctors Manitoba report made three recommendations to the province to address the backlog:

Thompson said talks with the province have been productive so far, but more needs to be done.

"A concrete commitment and comprehensive plan is needed now to reassure physicians and their patients that a post-pandemic Manitoba will mean that their wait for testing or surgery will be over," he said in the release.

CBC News has reached out to the province for a comment, but a spokesperson didn't immediately respond.