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

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.