Province says surgery volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels

Through its surgical recovery plan, Alberta expects to recover faster than many other provinces.

The surgical recovery plan is now integrated into the Alberta Surgical Initiative, which aims to provide all Albertans the surgeries they need within recommended wait times. The initiative is said to be improving and standardizing the entire surgical system from the time patients seek advice from their family doctor, to when they are referred to a specialist, to their surgery and rehabilitation.

“By carefully reducing the number of surgeries being performed in response to the pandemic, we were able to increase capacity in our intensive care units and ensure people with COVID-19 who needed ICU care could receive it,” added Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO, Alberta Health Services

. “Now, we are able to focus on our surgical recovery plan. I am so proud of our teams who continue to work hard to ensure Albertans have high-quality care.”

Quick facts

Throughout the 2020-21 fiscal year, surgical teams were able to support surgical activity at about 92 per cent of pre-COVID levels, with more than 268,000 surgeries completed compared with approximately 290,000 in the previous fiscal year.
About 40,000 surgeries were delayed in Alberta over the past 16 months:
25,000 surgeries were delayed in the first wave in the spring of 2020. All delayed surgeries from the first wave have been completed.
5,000 surgeries were delayed in the second wave during fall 2020 and early winter 2021. Another 10,000 surgeries were delayed in the third wave beginning in April 2021.
95 per cent, approximately 12,000, of these surgeries have been rebooked.
No emergency or urgent surgeries were delayed or postponed during the pandemic.
Most cancer surgeries continued during Alberta’s pandemic response.

by rdnewsNOW Staff

Province says surgery volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels

Quick facts

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