A travelling orthopaedics program is expanding to Carbonear General Hospital to complete orthopaedic surgeries in the region starting September 25, 2023.

The Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, made the announcement today in Carbonear with the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, and Dr. Will Moores, Divisional Head of Orthopaedics, NL Health Services.

This builds on the work the travelling team of surgeons has been doing during visits to St. Anthony, which has resulted in patients receiving orthopedic surgery sooner than expected.

The program in St. Anthony has the potential to accommodate approximately 140 surgeries annually. By expanding the program to Carbonear, the Department of Health and Community Services anticipates at least 150 surgeries can be performed each year – this means a total impact of at least 290 additional orthopaedic surgeries completed annually.

Between January and July of this year, 76 surgeries were performed by the team of surgeons travelling to St. Anthony.  The patients who received surgery would otherwise have to wait to get their surgery in St. John’s which can take more time given the high demand from the more concentrated population in the area.

The expansion to Carbonear is one of numerous steps, such as same day hip and knee replacement surgeries in the Northeast Avalon region, that the Provincial Government is taking to help ease the pressures of surgical backlogs in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Department of Health and Community Services has recently announced it will implement all 32 recommendations of the Provincial Surgical Task Force, including:

·               Developing a centralized list of operating rooms across the province to match surgical availability with facility underutilization;

·               Developing a centralized surgical waitlist, encompassing all regions of the province, to optimize use of all facilities, starting with orthopaedics; and

·               Increasing transportation options for patients who are otherwise ready for discharge.

Task force recommendations such as allowing short stays in personal care homes to increase bed capacity in acute care facilities have already been implemented.

NTV’s Ben Cleary will have more tonight on the NTV Evening Newshour.