Surgical wait times unlikely to improve without new ORs: P.E.I. auditor general

Prince Edward Island’s auditor general says surgical wait times are unlikely to improve without serious infrastructure upgrades.

Auditor General Darren Noonan appeared before the Public Account Committee Tuesday to present his office’s report on wait times for three kinds of surgeries: cataracts, knee and hip replacements.

It found P.E.I. was lagging behind Canadian standards for cataracts surgeries, behind every province other than Newfoundland and Labrador.

For knee replacements, the province is behind as well. Sixty four per cent of patients are waiting longer than 182 days, more than a month longer than average. However, hip surgeries did meet the benchmark.

The auditor general also found issues with how the data was being reported and a lack of processes in place for how to collect and release it.

The report made 12 recommendations to improve data collection, wait time transparency, and wait times themselves.

“It’s prioritizing what’s important,” said Noonan.

“If the decision is made that making sure that these surgeries are performed within the national is a priority, then you allocate the resources necessary to do that.”

In Health PEI’s response to one of those recommendations, officials said, in addition to more surgical staff, any increase in capacity will require building new operating rooms.

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