Kinew pauses Tories’ diagnostic, surgical task force to get handle on work, costs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/10/2023 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has “hit the pause button” on the Tory-appointed diagnostic and surgical recovery task force in one of his first acts in government.

Kinew cited concerns with a lack of oversight for the task force and its spending and decision-making processes as reasons for the pause.

“In particular, that they were making decisions about spending without having a system-wide view of what’s happening in the health-care system,” Kinew said at a Tuesday morning press conference focused on health care.

“All of us, just as laypeople, would hear that situation and say ‘Hmm, that seems like it might be an issue.’”

The former Progressive Conservative government established the task force in December 2021 (though foundational work had started in October 2021) to tackle a massive backlog in surgeries and tests caused, in part, by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former health minister Audrey Gordon appointed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter MacDonald to chair the task force steering committee and later brought on David Matear as the provincial director.

While the task force made progress in several areas since late 2021, including eliminating the pandemic backlog for cataract surgery, some imaging tests and orthopedic spine surgery. However, it was also accused of running roughshod over the public health system and some physician proposals.

The task force’s decision to send Manitobans out of province to hospitals in Canada and the United States for surgeries was questioned by local doctors and public health-care advocates, who argued money spent on care in the U.S. would go further within Manitoba.

More than 470 surgeries were performed on Manitobans willing to travel outside of the province through task-force agreements with hospitals. As of June, the task force disclosed it had spent less than $24 million on out-of-province surgeries.

The value of contracts with hospitals in the United States — most of which were untendered — and the average cost per procedure remain unknown.

The Tory-appointed task force maintained its out-of-province surgical program is a short-term measure to get Manitobans the care they need while capacity is added locally. Patients have lauded the care received elsewhere and a new operating room at Concordia Hospital opened in June.

“Manitobans deserve transparency, not political games. It’s time for the NDP to get out of election mode and start behaving like a government.”– Tory health critic Kathleen Cook

Surgeons and physicians also raised concern their proposals to increase capacity within the public health system were being sidelined in favour of private-sector proposals.

The Manitoba government and its task force contracted out thousands of procedures to local, private surgical centres over the past two years.

Last November, a group of orthopedic surgeons at Grace Hospital wrote to Gordon pleading for help to meet demand for joint replacements.

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 was rejected.

At the time, the task force had not communicated with the surgical group or assisted the program, the doctors wrote to the minister. The letter was released to the public by the NDP in April.

Kinew said existing programs — including out-of-province surgical options — continue to be available to Manitobans who have a referral or were already in the queue.

At least 72,300 procedures have been funded by the task force over the past two years, with thousands of cases contracted out to local and private surgical centres.

In May, task-force leadership estimated another 180,000 cases would be completed through the program by spring 2025.

However, surgeons and physicians previously raised concerns their proposals to add capacity in the public health system were being sidelined, sometimes in favour of private-sector proposals.

In April, two Winnipeg sleep specialist physicians resigned from their clinical advisory roles on the task force to protest the focus on private-sector involvement instead of additional public funding.

On Tuesday, Kinew said the task force was told not to enter into any new financial arrangements or launch new initiatives. No changes have been made to its leadership as the NDP government gathers more information about its work.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Head Start

Weekday Mornings

A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day.

Sign up for Head Start

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Kinew said he wants to return decision-making power and resources to the front lines and reduce duplication of bureaucracy at the highest levels of the health-care system.

Neither MacDonald nor Dr. Ed Buchel, the task force’s surgical lead and frequent spokesman, could be reached for comment Tuesday.

Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Michael Boroditsky was also unavailable. The professional association advocated for the government to strike a task force more than two years ago.

In a statement, a spokesman for Doctors Manitoba said it always envisioned the task force to be a temporary measure.

“We thank those who have contributed to making progress on reducing the backlog, and doctors look forward to working with the province on eliminating the backlog once and for all,” the spokesman said.

Newly appointed health critic Kathleen Cook said the NDP government must explain how pausing the task force’s work will impact backlogs that continue to persist.

She challenged the premier to outline his plan to help Manitobans waiting in pain for surgeries.

“Manitobans deserve transparency, not political games,” the Roblin MLA said. “It’s time for the NDP to get out of election mode and start behaving like a government.”

Kinew also accused the PCs of being “deeply irresponsible” in the leadup to the provincial election and demonstrating a “lack of financial oversight… including when it comes to health-care system delivery.”

The task force had a $40-million budget in 2021-22, a $110-million budget in 2022-23, and a $130-million spending authority this year.

“In addition to a health-care mess which we inherited from the previous PC government, we have also inherited quite a large task in trying to clean up the provincial finances,” Kinew said.

Cook said the NDP’s focus in the rear-view mirror is a distraction “from the fact that they don’t have a tangible plan to implement all of their promises.”

— with files from Carol Sanders

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca