New funding expected to shrink orthopedic surgery wait times in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is investing an additional $1.9 million to shorten the wait list for those in need of orthopedic surgeries, which should allow for an extra 160 people to get off the wait list.

There are currently 3,359 on the wait list for hip and knee surgeries in Nova Scotia. The additional funding, announced Wednesday, brings the total investment in orthopedic surgeries to $8.1 million in 2016. 

“This investment will get surgeries done for the people who have been waiting the longest and will eventually shorten the wait list overall,” Health Minister Leo Glavine said in a statement.

The money will be used to increase capacity for assessments, pay for materials used in surgeries and cover physician costs, the release said.

Patient: New funding doesn’t go far enough

Elizabeth Dean was scheduled Wednesday to have a hip replacement after waiting about two years. She said the additional funding is great news, but the province should be doing more to reduce wait times.

“I think they should up these operations a lot faster than they’re doing,” Dean said. “Nobody should have to go through this kind of pain.”

Elizabeth Dean says the pain made it difficult to leave her home so she had to rely on neighbours to help her with daily chores, such as banking, getting groceries and taking out the garbage. (Elizabeth Dean)

The 58-year-old from Halifax said her doctor paid her a home visit last week and sent her to hospital by ambulance, because her condition was so bad.

“It’s hard. It’s very painful,” Dean said. “That whole hip hurts and under the groin-area and down the leg, and if you try to move up, you can feel the bone cracking. It’s really bad. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.” 

2-year wait was painful

Dean visited the emergency room a couple of times during her two years on the wait list. She said each time she sat in the waiting room for about six hours, only to be told there wasn’t anything they could do for her.

At home, Dean said she was in a lot of pain.

“I could hardly walk and when I walked,” she said. “I could hear the bones cracking together, so I was doing very little walking and then it got worse and worse and worse.”

Dean said it became difficult to leave the building so she had to rely on neighbours to help her with daily chores, such as banking, getting groceries and taking out the garbage. She said she spent most of her time at home lying in a hospital bed because it was too painful otherwise.

Information about wait times for orthopedic surgery in Nova Scotia is available at waittimes.novascotia.ca.

Long waits for orthopedic surgeries such as hip replacements can leave patients in pain and unable to leave their homes. (CBC)