Manitoba Struggles to Address Pandemic Surgical Backlog
A national report released last week by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows Manitoba still has one of the largest surgery backlogs lingering from disruptions to surgical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: The backlog of surgical cases is still over 40,000, which is about 40% of a typical pre-pandemic year of surgery volumes or the equivalent of losing nearly five full months of surgeries.
“It’s troubling to see our province lagging behind most others, as patients wait longer for essential surgeries,” says Dr. Randy Guzman, President of Doctors Manitoba and a vascular surgeon. “This backlog isn’t just a number. It’s impacting real lives, adding months of pain and uncertainty for patients and families across Manitoba. In many areas, surgical wait times are longer than they used to be or longer than medically recommended benchmarks.”
CONCERNING TRENDS:
- Manitoba lost 41,267 surgeries. In 2023/24, volumes finally returned to pre-pandemic level, but the backlog still stands at 40,160.
- Across Canada, Manitoba’s backlog is the second biggest of all provinces when it comes to lingering pandemic backlogs. Only Newfoundland and Labrador has a bigger backlog. BC and PEI have fully eliminated their backlog.
- Children’s surgical volumes are still down 12% below pre-pandemic levels. Patients in rural/remote communities and in lower income groups are also still behind as well.
- Cataract surgery volumes are still down 10% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
BRIGHT SPOTS:
- Manitoba continues to have strong performance on repairing hip fractures within 48 hours, with 88% of cases completed within this benchmark.
- Volumes for hip and knee replacements have grown significantly, though only 50% of patients receive their surgery within the 26-week benchmark
Dr. Guzman added: “Manitoba must continue to focus on both recovering from the pandemic backlog as well as expanding volumes to match our rapidly expanding and aging population.”
📖 FURTHER READING