Provinces
The Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA) is proud to count on provincial orthopaedic associations and institutions as their partners. Over the last two years, COA conducted a national virtual tour to 10 provinces and engaged with over 300 surgeons. Members of the orthopaedic community met to represent their province’s current needs, as a result of the pandemic.
ALBERTA
Coming soon.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Coming soon.
MANITOBA
- Lack of training new recruits, many redeployments and retirements have led to staff shortages on care team.
- Bed closures, cancelled complex cases are a direct result of nursing shortages.
- Virtual care has proven successful in the area.
NEW BRUNSWICK
- Anesthesia shortages causing bottlenecks for surgery and operating room time.
- Resource disparity between hospital systems. No effective allocation or shared resources.
- Job scarcity. Early career surgeons are underemployed and leaving the province in search of opportunity.
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
- Access to care disparity, growing patient waitlist especially for hip fractures from aging population.
- Orthopaedic departments blamed for inefficiencies on ground level. • Nursing shortages and burnout.
NOVA SCOTIA
- Lack of primary care physicians poses logistical and ethical challenges later when addressing specific health issues related to orthopaedic care.
- Early career surgeons not able to train effectively, make connections and collaborations from being in virtual environment.
- Care team fatigue.
ONTARIO
- Job scarcity. Surgeons are foregoing retirement, creating job shortages. • Disparity in resource allocation, both regionally and specific to specialty.
- Orthopaedics deemed a low priority.
- Nursing and anesthesia shortages.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
- Allocation and prioritization of resources.
- Orthopaedic care considered low priority.
QUEBEC
- Prioritization of orthopaedic procedures, while breaking perception that these are lifestyle surgery or elective (optional, by choice) procedures.
- Critical shortage of nurses and ancillary staff, impedes hospitals to perform outpatient orthopaedics.
- Surgeons have successful models that improve efficiencies, but many are not implemented by administration.
SASKATCHEWAN
- Strained healthcare practitioners during COVID-19.
- General discouragement and confusion how to advocate for better access to care in orthopaedics.
- Nursing shortages, both on the floor and operating rooms.