More cataract surgeries available for Nova Scotians in 2023
The number of cataract surgeries available in Nova Scotia is set to increase by over 60 per cent next year.
The expansion of surgery appointments, up to 6,000 compared to roughly 3,700 this year, is a result of an ongoing partnership between Nova Scotia Health and the Halifax Vision Surgical Centre.
"We know vision impairment can have a devastating effect on a person's life," said Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health and Wellness, in a Friday news release. "This expanded partnership with Halifax Vision will help Nova Scotians who are waiting for much-needed eye surgeries see the world a little clearer and brighter, sooner."
The partnership will see the relocation of cataract surgeries from Nova Scotia Heath's Eye Care Centre to the Halifax Vision Surgical Centre in an effort to free up operating room time for more complex eye surgeries for patients across the Maritimes.
The surgeries offered at the Eye Care Centre, located at the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, include procedures on eye sockets, eyelids, tear ducts and the face.
The renewed partnership will cost about $5 million per year. The centre has been performing cataract surgeries for Nova Scotia Health since 2020.
Since the partnership began, Nova Scotia Health has paid about $4.2 million to the Halifax Vision Surgical Centre, not including physician fees billed directly to MSI.
Dr. Marcelo Nicolela, Chief of Ophthalmology at Nova Scotia Health, said in the release that the centre has helped nearly 4,000 patients receive surgery even while other procedures were restricted in hospital settings due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
"This expanded partnership will comprehensively address waiting times in all areas of ophthalmology, allowing patients from the whole province timely access to eye surgeries," Nicolela said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.