More folks having hip and knee surgery closer to home

North East LHIN
News Release

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Getting care closer to home is a reality in Northeastern Ontario for people waiting to have hip or knee surgery. Three years ago, people in this part of the province waited a lot longer for hip replacement surgery than they do today – in fact 26% longer!

The North East LHIN, like all LHINs across Ontario works to provide improved access to medical services to reduce the amount of time people wait for their surgery.

Over the past year, the North East LHIN has been working with 15 orthopedic surgeons across the region to implement a new North East Hip and Knee Replacement at five participating hospitals (Hôpital régional de Sudbury Regional Hospital, North Bay General Hospital, Sault Area Hospital, Timmins and District Hospital, and West Parry Sound Health Centre).

Sudbury opened the first North Eastern Joint Assessment Centre in February 2010 as a central point of intake for patients suffering from hip and knee arthritis. It’s had great success, with wait times down 78% for knee surgery. Timmins and North Bay launched their programs in February 2011. Plans for Sault Ste. Marie and West Parry Sound are in motion, and set to open this spring.

As a result of these efforts, people are benefitting from a more coordinated and timely approach to care. As well, the concerted efforts of hospitals working together is helping to ensure Northeastern Ontario’s hip and knee wait time targets are met and people are receiving the care they need closer to home.

Earlier this week, the North East LHIN approved the re-allocation of health care dollars so now an additional 63 hip and knee patients can have their surgery right here in Northeastern Ontario. This will bring the projected total for this fiscal year to 1,701 hip and knee surgeries performed in the North East region –a significant increase from last year’s 1,469.

Quotes

“Our priority is to improve access to hip and knee replacement surgery by reducing the amount of time people wait or travel. The fact that we can do more cases closer to home with people waiting less time is most encouraging.”
-Louise Paquette, CEO, North East LHIN

“The Joint Assessment Centre will greatly enhance our ability to address the continued challenges in providing access to timely joint replacement surgery while ensuring the sustainability of orthopedic services within our district.”
-Dr. Robert Lafontaine, Orthopedic Surgeon, Timmins and District Hospital

“For the first time ever, we’re above our targets and we’re actually doing more replacements than ever. In the past, the Sudbury District has experienced difficulties with wait times and meeting our targets for joint replacements. In combination with hospital commitment and the development of the Centre, our wait times have decreased dramatically. Patient satisfaction has been excellent.”
-Dr. Eric Robinson, Lead Orthopedic Surgeon, Sudbury Regional Hospital Joint Assessment Centre

Facts:

• On February 28, 2011, the North East LHIN Board approved the reallocation of $1.8 million dollars, adding to the $1.3 it reallocated in January 2011.

• Within this fiscal year, the North East LHIN has re-allocated a total of $3.1 million health care dollars. Re-allocated funds ensure money and programs and services stay in Northeastern Ontario and benefit Northeastern Ontarians.

• The re-allocations are possible as a result of health service providers, funded by the NE LHIN, who for varying reasons indicate that they are not able to spend their full funding envelope by fiscal year-end. The NE LHIN is able to redistribute the funds back into communities – based on need. To date, the reallocations have gone towards Northeastern Ontario programs and services such as:

• ER/ALC – meeting emergency room wait time and alternate level of care pressures

• Chronic Disease – supporting a stroke rehabilitation project to provide rehab services to patients outside of the hospital setting.

• Mental Health – enhancing services for people coping with Alzheimer’

• Technology – increasing access to technology to support access to health care within Northeastern Ontario.

• Integration – Supporting health service provider integration efforts

• Aboriginal projects – working with Aboriginal, First Nation and Métis partners on programs that will help improve the health care status of this population group.

• Hip and Knee Transfers – increasing volumes for hip and knee surgery

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