Pain clinic backlog symptom service not improving: patient

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This article was published 17/05/2023 (892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every three months for the past five years, Judith Perras has had regular treatments at Health Sciences Centre’s pain care clinic.

However, instead of a scheduled appointment this spring, Perras was placed on a will-call list, in case a cancellation frees up a last-minute spot.

The retired medical technologist has spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine that can cause compression and nerve damage. Targeted injections administered at the Winnipeg pain clinic keep her from relying on daily painkillers.

Perras was put on the list May 15, after phoning the clinic to ask why she hadn’t received any notice of an upcoming appointment date.

“I’ve never, in five years, had to go on a cancellation list,” she said, questioning why she can’t schedule an appointment as an existing patient.

There are 1,360 patients awaiting a consultation at the HSC pain clinic, Shared Health stated.

Some Manitobans are waiting up to three years to begin seeing specialists at the pain clinic. National standards are within six to nine months.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced a planned expansion of Manitoba’s chronic pain treatment services in late March, along with a promise to reduce those wait times and open a new chronic pain clinic in Selkirk. under the umbrella of the newly renamed Manitoba Pain Care Program.

The provincial government has pledged $4 million annually to the program.

Perras had waited a year to get into the HSC clinic, and after five years as a patient, has now been waiting close to two months for her next appointment date.

Having worked within the health-care system, Perras said she’s not the type to complain. She was expecting her next appointment in early April.

“If you’re expanding the service, you should be able to provide the service for the people that are already using it.”

Delays in chronic pain care worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, and pain clinic staff were among those redeployed to respond to system-wide pressure.

However, even at the height of the pandemic, Perras said she only ever waited a couple of extra weeks for an appointment.

She hasn’t received an explanation for the current delay.

In a statement, a Shared Health spokesperson said existing patients can still book appointments, but getting on the cancellation list is a quicker way to be seen.

“Physicians work to balance the needs of existing patients with high-acuity referrals, such as cancer patients who may need to be seen earlier due to the impact of their disease,” Shared Health stated.

“The clinic at HSC is currently onboarding an additional nurse and a clerical staff member to assist with the increased demand for services.”

The pain clinic is starting to put in play the new government investments announced this year, Shared Health stated. “As this work is in its early stages, we acknowledge it will take some time to work through the backlog of patients waiting for care, which increased during the pandemic.”

People with chronic pain rely on the HSC clinic to provide the treatment often not well-understood by general practitioners, Perras said.

Chronic pain in general is “not well-treated,” which is why the clinic’s services are so valuable, she added.

“The people that work there, they’re amazing, and the service they provide is life-changing for people in chronic pain. So I’m upset that the government would say that they’re improving services when they’re really not,” Perras said.

“It’s not improving if they’re making it worse for people already receiving that service.”

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com