Grace Hospital surgeons wait months for government action on ‘dire situation’

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This article was published 18/04/2023 (907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five months after orthopedic surgeons at Grace Hospital pleaded with Health Minister Audrey Gordon for help to meet demand for joint replacements, doctors continue to wait for government funding and approval to tackle backlogs and bolster the beleaguered program.

On Tuesday, the Manitoba NDP tabled a letter signed by 10 orthopedic surgeons at Grace Hospital and sent to Gordon on Nov. 8, 2022, in question period.

The letter states the west Winnipeg hospital is struggling to offer the basic standard of care, owing to a lack of staff, resulting in trauma patients waiting too long for treatment and non-urgent surgical patients experiencing significant delays and cancellations.

“Our current path is clearly not providing the orthopedic health care that Manitobans deserve. To continue our present course is not an option,” the letter states. “The public needs to be aware of this dire situation, particularly in the presence of apathy and no demonstrable willingness for change.”

The Free Press independently confirmed the letter was written by the surgeon group. On Tuesday, a signatory said Grace doctors have not received additional support from the hospital or health region since penning the three-page appeal.

In the letter, the surgeons express dismay at being told to book fewer joint replacements to avoid cancellations and accommodate acute surgeries.

A Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spokesperson confirmed Tuesday scheduled elective cases were reduced by 20 per cent at Grace Hospital to minimize cancellations.

“To continue to delay access to some of the most reliable and successful procedures in all medicine is a failure of our health-care system to Manitobans,” the letter states.

Attempts to address concerns with hospital administration, the WRHA and Shared Health led nowhere, the doctors said, and a proposal to increase surgical capacity at Grace Hospital was rejected.

At the time, the province’s diagnostic and surgical recovery task force had not communicated with the surgical group or assisted the program, the doctors wrote to the minister.

On Tuesday, Opposition Leader Wab Kinew accused the Progressive Conservative government of ignoring pleas for help and demanded Premier Heather Stefanson explain why their proposal was rejected.

“That’s shocking — we should be investing in the Grace Hospital, not making more cuts,” Kinew said in question period.

Stefanson and deputy premier Cliff Cullen chided the Opposition for tabling a document that did not include names of the signatories.

Kinew argued the names were redacted to protect the doctors from reprisal “at the hand of the Stefanson government.”

“We on this side of the house take the health care of Manitobans very seriously,” Stefanson said, pointing to increased spending. “We’re making sure that the patients get the health care they need, when they need it.”

Gordon, meanwhile, chose not to address questions raised by NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara directly, and instead cast doubt on the authenticity of the letter and its appeals for ministerial intervention.

The health minister asked for the NDP to produce the surgeons’ signatures.

“Until they do, I request that they discontinue making statements that are not factual and is not based on any evidence,” Gordon said.

“We continue to work with the surgeons and administration at Grace Hospital to ensure they have all the resources they need to provide exceptional care to Manitobans.”

Gordon did not answer address reporters after question period Tuesday.

The minister’s office did not respond by deadline when asked if Gordon had received and responded to the surgeons’ letter.

The letter was made public one day after two advisers on the surgical recovery task force announced their resignations, over concerns privatization was being prioritized over patient care.

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On Monday, the Free Press reported sleep specialists Dr. Eleni Giannouli and Dr. Nancy Porhownik quit the task force April 6. The doctors said their proposals to eliminate sleep disorder test backlogs with more staff and equipment were “shelved.”

The task force was scheduled to decide Tuesday whether it would fund a proposal by Grace Hospital’s surgeons to reduce wait lists for orthopedic procedures, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Neither the WRHA nor Gordon’s office would confirm a proposal was in front of the task force Tuesday.

“Grace Hospital leadership continues to work with physicians and the diagnostic and surgical recovery task force on solutions to ensure continuing safe patient care with a number of proposals being considered,” a WRHA spokesperson said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca