Surgical Wait Lists To Be Addressed
PRINCE GEORGE – Premier John Horgan announced a four-year plan to deal with surgical wait lists, with one of the first priorities being five hip and knee replacement programs.
In a recent Northern Health Board meeting, hip fracture fixation surgery wait lists were identified, with 48 hours being the magical number.
“The evidence does support that people who suffer from a hip fracture if that surgery can be completed within 48 hours, they have much better outcomes,” says Penny Anguish, Chief Operating Officer for Northern Health.
The number of patients in Northern Health received that form of surgery was between 62% and 100%. But Anquish says that depends on a number of variables, such as travel time, but the tendency is closer to 100%.