As surgery wait-list grows, province looking into need for more ophthalmologists

P.E.I.'s health minister says his department is doing research to see if the province needs more ophthalmologists.

The province currently has a complement of seven ophthalmologists, three of whom perform surgery — but wait times for surgery are growing. 

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, 90 per cent of patients on P.E.I. received their cataract surgery within 325 days in 2018 — based on data from April 1 to Sept. 30. That's up from 169 days over the same period in 2017.

"I am troubled that the wait time has been quite long, and it has been a building number for the last number of years. We're working hard to reduce that," said James Aylward, minister of health and wellness. 

Wait times 'deplorable,' says minister

Concerns about wait times for cataract surgery were brought up during question period Wednesday by Green Party MLA Michele Beaton.

Beaton said she has heard from some seniors who have to wait two years to get corrective surgery, and asked Aylward if he thinks that kind of wait is acceptable.

"There are real consequences to seniors, including threatening their ability to maintain their driver's licence," Beaton said.

Aylward called waits of that length "deplorable," and he said his department is doing an internal review to look at why wait times have grown, and if an additional ophthalmologist is needed. 

"If we discover that another specialist is required to come here to P.E.I.,  then we'll go through the proper procedures … to start that process right away. But until we have the full review done, we can't do that," Aylward said.  

In the meantime, Aylward said his department is looking at bringing in temporary doctors to help ease the backlog.

New doctor to start this summer

Of P.E.I.'s complement of seven ophthalmologists, one position is currently vacant because of a recent retirement. The province said there is a newly recruited doctor slated to take over that position in August.

There is also currently one doctor working in a temporary locum position, until November.

While wait times appear to have increased, the province said the number of cataract surgeries has also increased significantly in recent years.

The province also noted the wait times compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information include people who have chosen to defer their surgery date for convenience, or other reasons. 

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