RVH hopes to open private cataract clinic to help shorten wait times in Simcoe Muskoka

The Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie, along with many other Ontario hospitals, is dealing with a backlog of cataract surgeries and other surgical procedures caused by operating room closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the Barrie hospital has seen some recent improvement, wait times for these procedures remain longer than pre-pandemic levels.

To ease pressures on Ontario hospitals, the province announced Monday it is expanding the private delivery of public health care by funding clinics to perform more cataract surgeries, MRI and CT scans, colonoscopies, hip and knee replacements and other procedures.

Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones assured the surgeries and tests would continue to be paid for by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).

"We are interested to hear more about the government's recent announcement, and how it could help patients access care more quickly without impacting our already challenged human resources," stated Gail Hunt, RVH president and CEO.

Hunt noted that RVH has a long-standing relationship with a local private endoscopy clinic and is already in the process of finding an appropriate location and working with physicians and stakeholders to create a plan for a "safe relocation of some cataract surgery procedures."

With Ministry of Health approvals and sufficient staff, Hunt said the target is for a cataract clinic to open in late spring.

RVH patients currently wait 12 to 18 months for their procedure.

Hunt said this plan should shorten wait times for cataract surgery and free up operating room time at RVH for other surgical procedures.

With files from The Canadian Press