Surgeons warn of looming eye-care crisis

By: Katie May Posted: 6:29 PM CDT Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023

A severe shortage of ophthalmologists is prompting eye surgeons to raise the alarm in advance of the provincial election.

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A severe shortage of ophthalmologists is prompting eye surgeons to raise the alarm in advance of the provincial election.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/09/2023 (733 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A severe shortage of ophthalmologists is prompting eye surgeons to raise the alarm in advance of the provincial election.

The incoming government must be “proactive, not reactive” about recruiting and retaining ophthalmologists, because there are currently only 19 serving Manitoba, northwestern Ontario and the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, said Dr. Jennifer Rahman, president of Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba.

She added staffing levels have hit a historic low and are well below the per-capita eye surgeon staffing ratios in other provinces.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Dr. Jennifer Rahman said staffing levels have hit a historic low and are well below the per-capita eye surgeon staffing ratios in other provinces. — RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES

Dr. Jennifer Rahman said staffing levels have hit a historic low and are well below the per-capita eye surgeon staffing ratios in other provinces.

“We are terribly understaffed in Manitoba,” Rahman said during a virtual news conference Thursday.

Children are waiting up to two years to see a pediatric opthamologist after being referred.

“That’s creating a lot of difficulty,” she said, explaining that those with urgent needs are seen by an on-call surgeon, which puts more pressure on the on-call system. “Two years is absolutely not a reasonable time frame for children.”

Although the backlog of cataract surgeries has improved, people who need cataract removal surgery are still waiting eight to 12 months before they can consult with a surgeon.

Warning of an “impending crisis” in eye care, Rahman said the biggest barrier to recruiting more eye surgeons has been a lack of guaranteed surgical time. Aging operating rooms and a lack of clinic infrastructure in which ophthalmologists can practise doesn’t help recruit more specialists, she added.

The association has developed an 18-page document outlining its vision for the future of eye care in Manitoba, calling for an urgent eye clinic to be set up at Misericordia Health Centre and laying out priorities over the next 15 years.

The association attempted to meet with MLAs, Rahman said, and has received good feedback from the Liberal Party but has not received feedback from the NDP and has not been able to meet with the PCs during the campaign period.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com

Katie May
Multimedia producer

Katie May is a multimedia producer for the Free Press.

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