Alberta delayed fewer surgeries during pandemic than other provinces

While all provinces delayed surgeries during the pandemic, Alberta delayed fewer surgeries than other larger provinces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May, Global News reported that Ontario’s surgery backlog would reach 419,200 procedures by the end of summer and take three and a half years to clear. The tally rises to nearly 2.5 million when factoring in postponed diagnostic procedures.

Global News also reported that Quebec neared 150,000 delayed surgeries and that it would take until March 2023 to reach pre-pandemic levels. About 100,000 residents have been waiting for less than six months.

"Throughout the 2020-21 fiscal year, surgical teams were able to support surgical activity [in Alberta] at about 92 percent of pre-COVID levels, with more than 268,000 surgeries completed compared with approximately 290,000 in the previous fiscal year," said Health spokesperson Steve Buick.

According to a government press release, no emergency or urgent surgeries were delayed or postponed during the pandemic, and most cancer surgeries continued during Alberta’s pandemic response.

AHS President and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu said the reduced surgery caseloads in response to the pandemic increased capacity in Alberta’s intensive care units and ensured people with COVID-19 who needed ICU care could receive it. “Now, we are able to focus on our surgical recovery plan. I am so proud of our teams who continue to work hard to ensure Albertans have high-quality care,” he said.

In total, about 40,000 surgeries were delayed in Alberta over the past 16 months.

All 25,000 delayed surgeries in the first wave in the spring of 2020 have been completed.

In the second wave, five to 10 percent of surgeries were delayed in Alberta compared with between 30 and 60 percent of surgeries postponed in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.

5,000 surgeries were delayed in the second wave during fall 2020 and early winter 2021, and another 10,000 surgeries were delayed in the third wave beginning in April 2021. Approximately 95 percent of these surgeries have been rebooked.

A recent SecondStreet.org report provided the Alberta government with a "good" response for Alberta Health Services (AHS) reporting data promptly.

"As the pandemic recedes, Alberta’s government will be pushing as hard as we can to ensure that any delayed surgeries are completed as fast as possible," said Health Minister Tyler Shandro. "Thanks to the incredible dedication of surgical teams in AHS and at chartered surgical facilities, we are getting closer and closer to that goal."

"Through its surgical recovery plan, Alberta expects to recover faster than many other provinces," said Buick. "The surgical recovery plan is now integrated into the Alberta Surgical Initiative, which will provide all Albertans with the surgeries they need within recommended wait times."

He claims the initiative is improving and standardizing the entire surgical system from the time patients seek advice from their family doctor, to when they are referred to a specialist, to their surgery and rehabilitation.

Alberta is now exceeding 100 percent capacity for surgical volumes and is leading the country in eliminating the COVID-19 surgical backlog.