National

Canada's surgical backlogs to cost more than $1B

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Nov, 2021 11:31 AM

OTTAWA - The Canadian Medical Association says it will cost $1.3 billion to clear the backlogs for eight key procedures that were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The association commissioned consulting firm Deloitte to report on the effect of the pandemic on Canada's health-care system.

Deloitte found a backlog of 327,800 procedures across Canada.

The report included eight procedures: hip replacement, cataract surgery, knee replacement, MRI scans, CT scans, coronary artery bypass and breast cancer surgery.

Deloitte found it would cost $1.3 billion in additional funding to return wait times for those procedures to their pre-pandemic levels by June 2022.

The report says the cost may be even higher when the effect of the fourth wave is considered.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Conversion therapy ban approved in principle

O'Toole allowed his MPs a free vote on the issue, part of his bargain with social conservatives that helped him secure the Conservative leadership in August.

Conversion therapy ban approved in principle

Blair pledges to address prison isolation concerns

Prisoners transferred to the units are supposed to be allowed out of their cells for four hours each day, with two of those hours engaged in "meaningful human contact."

Blair pledges to address prison isolation concerns

Andrew Scheer not voting in U.S. election

In the 2016 presidential election, there were approximately 620,000 Americans in Canada who were eligible to cast ballots, though only around 32,000 did.

Andrew Scheer not voting in U.S. election

COVID-19 deaths hit racialized communities hardest: Stats Can

The report's authors say it is more evidence that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting visible minorities, who are more likely to live in overcrowded housing and work in jobs that put them more at risk of exposure to COVID-19.

COVID-19 deaths hit racialized communities hardest: Stats Can

EI commissioners: start review of safety net now

The shortcomings in EI, flagged for years by experts, have been exposed by the pandemic, including that not every worker is covered, nor can everyone who is covered get benefits when they need them.

EI commissioners: start review of safety net now

Steep drop in right whale population raises fears

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that as of January 2019, an estimated 366 North Atlantic right whales remained in the ocean, down from the previous count of 412 in 2018. Oceana Canada campaign director Kim Elmslie said the decline is "a reality check."