Ford Announces Expanded Private Surgical Care
The health care experts have been warning about the possibility of exacerbated staffing shortages in the hospitals.
Premiere of Ontario, Doug Ford, alongside the Health Minister, Sylvia Jones announced a new three step plan that will let the community surgical and diagnostic centers take on more responsibilities including surgeries.
These Independent health facilities are the clinics that are operated by the private sector that will now receive public funding from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) to perform medically necessary procedures.
In a press conference on Monday, Health Minister Sylvia Jones mentioned that this development will reduce the wait times and eliminate concurring surgical backlogs.
Under this plan, the surgical waitlist should return to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023.
The health care experts have been warning about the possibility of exacerbated staffing shortages in the hospitals.
$18 M will now be invested in the existing centers in order to cover the procedural care like CT scans, MRI, minimally invasive gynecological surgeries, ophthalmic surgeries, and plastic surgeries.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones said, “We need to be bold, innovative and creative.” She further added, “We need to build on the spirit of collaboration on display across the health-care sector.”
However, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario said that the expansion of private surgical centers could create challenges for hospitals. CEO Nancy Whitmore said in a statement, “Many months ago, we were consulted and shared our opinion that stand-alone surgical centers need to be connected to the hospital system to ensure continuity of care and patient safety.”
Prabhnoor Kaur