Horizon Health announces Saturday surgeries to help with backlog

The Horizon Health Network announced it will start doing Saturday surgeries in an attempt to work through some of the backlog made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health authority says surgical teams in Fredericton, Miramichi, Moncton and Saint John will complete a "blitz" of up to 96 surgeries, primarily orthopaedic, on Saturdays in November through to February.

Typically, operating rooms do not run planned surgeries on weekends.

Horizon says the new approach will not only help with some of the backlog, but also improve access to surgical services and decrease the overall wait time for in-demand surgeries.

“All New Brunswickers deserve accessible health care, and we are committed to providing that every day,” said Margaret Melanson, Horizon’s interim president and CEO, in a news release Thursday.

“This initiative is an innovative and efficient way to continue to address our systemic challenges and barriers to providing access to surgery.”

"The hope is to reduce the wait times coupled with some of the other pieces of the puzzle," Minister of Health Bruce Fitch told CTV Thursday.

The goal is complete three to four arthroplasties in each of the four locations on a Saturday.

This means, once the program is fully implemented, between 12 to 16 hip and knee replacements will be completed each Saturday, and between 72 and 96 surgeries will be completed over the next several months.

This initiative is known as “High-intensity interval theatre (HIIT)” lists. HIIT lists are recognized as an efficient way to complete “a month’s worth” of surgeries in a single day. They take place on Saturdays as a way to not put pressure on a hospital’s regular schedules. The model was created by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, a health-care organization in the United Kingdom.

Horizon says this initiative involves intensive planning and preparation from a multidisciplinary team of health-care professionals, including:

• anesthetists
• surgeons
• registered nurses
• licensed practical nurses
• day surgery
• post anesthesia care units and inpatient units
• patient care attendants
• respiratory therapists
• environmental services
• medical device reprocessing
• medical imaging
• laboratory
• pharmacy
• physiotherapy staff

This also involves several pre-operative meetings with patients, to ensure the best candidates are selected. Patients waiting the longest will be the first group considered for this initiative.

“I am extremely appreciative of the health-care workers who are taking time from their weekends to provide this exceptional care for their patients,” said Melanson. "They have gone above and beyond to make this initiative possible.”

Horizon says across its network, five of out 10 hip replacements are completed in an average of 313 days and nine of out 10 are completed within 524 days.

For knee replacements, Horizon says five of out 10 are completed in 391 days and nine of out 10 are completed within 590 days.

Currently, there are more than 2,000 people waiting for a hip or knee replacement within Horizon.

Horizon's HIIT initiative will start this Saturday at The Moncton hospital, with other hospitals starting in the following weeks.