Sask. to send patients to Calgary for orthopedic surgeries, but on their own dime

Saskatchewan has agreed to pay a Calgary clinic to do some orthopedic surgeries starting this fall, but the provincial government won’t pay for the patients’ travel to and from Alberta.

According to The Canadian Press, Saskatchewan’s Health Minister Paul Merriman said the government has contracted with a Calgary facility to do up to 20 knee and hip surgeries per month for people who are on Saskatchewan’s surgical waiting list.

“We’re trying to utilize all of the surgical capacity — not just within Saskatchewan, but we’ve also looked outside the province — to be able to get people done in their surgeries,” Merriman told the news agency.

He said the Saskatchewan Health Authority will manage the patients’ bookings, but those who choose to travel to Calgary for an operation will have to pay for the trip.

In July, the Saskatchewan government revealed it was looking at sending people to other jurisdictions for surgeries as it seeks to shorten a wait list that had grown because COVID-19 had limited the number of operations that could be done.

Now, Merriman says sending patients out of the province for privatized care will help them get their surgeries done faster. As well, he said the move will open up spots within Saskatchewan’s public health-care system.

NDP Leader Carla Beck criticized the delivery of out-of-province and privatized care, saying the government is creating a two-tier health system that prioritizes people who have more income.

According to the government, there are about 8,000 patients waiting for joint replacements in Saskatchewan, with the majority of those in Saskatoon and Regina.

On Monday, the government also announced the Saskatchewan Health Authority was issuing a Request for Proposal to find a third-party provider to do up to 3,000 orthopedic surgeries per year in Regina.

That proposal requires a standalone surgical facility that would increase operating room and bed capacity for in-patient joint replacements, as well as a variety of day surgery orthopedic procedures.

Though done privately, those surgeries would be publicly funded over the length of the agreement. The government is looking to have a contract signed with that third-party provider this fall, with surgeries to start on or before Dec. 31, 2023.

— With files from The Canadian Press