(File Photo)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

New Contracts Awarded

Province aiming to reduce wait-times for ophthalmology surgeries

Jul 15, 2021 | 11:03 AM

Officials with the Alberta government have announced the expansion of contracts with four chartered surgical facilities (CSF) that are expected to increase the number of cataract and other ophthalmological procedures for Albertans.

These new contracts are said to focus on Edmonton and Calgary where there are established facilities experienced in performing a high volume of procedures. However, Ophthalmology surgeries will also continue to be provided in regional sites such as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Grande Prairie, Red Deer Regional Hospital and Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge.

AHS will continue to perform more complex ophthalmology surgeries in Calgary and Edmonton hospitals as well as these community settings.

Officials say the contracts will increase capacity for surgeries, decrease the waitlist, and save costs per procedure. This work is part of the Alberta Surgical Initiative (ASI) to ensure all Albertans receive scheduled surgeries within clinically appropriate targets.

“Through this highly-competitive process, we’re able to secure high-quality ophthalmology care for Albertans at excellent pricing compared with other jurisdictions across Canada,” says Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health, in a government press release. “This expansion will allow for an increase in safe ophthalmology procedures, while delivering savings that can be reinvested to continue expanding surgical access for Albertans.”

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“Patients are at the heart of all our decision-making, and these independent facilities provide safe, low-risk surgeries without cost to patients,” adds Verna Yiu, president and CEO, Alberta Health Services. “These changes will improve access, reduce wait times for surgery for patients and provide capacity for procedures that require hospital care.”

Officials say Alberta Health Services (AHS) is entering into negotiations with the four CSFs following a public request for proposal (RFP) process launched in April 2021. AHS expects these CSFs to be providing additional ophthalmological surgeries in Edmonton and Calgary Zones no later than January 2022.

To continue to expand surgical access for Albertans, an orthopedic CSF RFP is expected to be issued shortly. Additional RFP opportunities for CSF providers in other regional centres and for different types of surgeries are also expected in the fall.

In addition to increasing capacity at CSFs, officials say Alberta’s government has invested $120 million in capital funding over three-years in AHS-owned facilities under the Alberta Surgical Initiative to reduce wait times for more complex surgeries that cannot be performed in CSFs.

Quick facts

• As of July 7, there are said to be 13,432 patients waiting for cataract surgeries in the province, with 56 per cent of those waiting outside of the clinically appropriate target wait time. The target is within six to 16 weeks, depending on the severity of illness or injury.
• Surgical wait times have been impacted by the pandemic, with the total surgical backlog in Alberta estimated at approximately 40,000. AHS is currently working through the province’s surgical backlog and is claimed to be leading the country in eliminating this backlog. AHS is now exceeding 100 per cent of monthly pre-pandemic surgical volumes.