Fraser Valley/Victoria – People in the Fraser Health region will have better access to joint replacement surgery, thanks to the Fraser Health hip and knee replacement program, which will increase the number of hip and knee replacement surgeries in the region by 23% in 2018-19.
“We know that when we use the resources in our public health system effectively, we can make our health-care system stronger, and our surgical strategy aims to achieve that,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “By choosing to improve how we schedule and perform hip and knee replacements, as well as how we care for people before and after surgery, we are helping to get people back to their day to day activities.”
As a result of this program, the number of hip and knee replacement surgeries within Fraser Health is expected to increase by approximately 836 in 2018-19. The program started at Burnaby Hospital, and Fraser Health plans to open additional centres later this year.
The Fraser Health hip and knee replacement program is one of five programs the provincial government is implementing throughout the province, as one component of its new four-part surgical strategy. Last month, similar programs were announced at Vancouver General Hospital and for southern Vancouver Island. A program for the North was also launched in Prince George in April.
Fraser Health’s hip and knee replacement program will also make improvements designed to support increased surgical volumes, reduce wait times and improve continuity of care for patients by co-ordinating all the services a patient requires to prepare for, undergo and recover from surgery. This includes:
- dedicated operating room time;
- pre- and post-surgical support;
- centralized intake;
- standardized assessment;
- access to the first-available surgeon; and
- ongoing program evaluation.
In 2016-17 approximately 14,390 hip and knee surgeries were performed throughout the province and by 2018-19 more than 19,250 will be done. The additional surgeries will mean a 34% increase in hip and knee surgeries. This will significantly reduce the number of patients waiting. As of March 31, 2017, provincewide, 30% of people waiting for hip surgery and 38% of people waiting for knee surgery waited more than 26 weeks.
Under the provincial surgical strategy, which is being supported with ongoing targeted funding of $75 million starting in 2018-19, and increasing to $100 million in 2019-20, approximately 9,400 more publicly funded surgeries will be completed by the end of March 2019.
The strategy will improve timely access to surgery through a more efficient surgical system, and will help the Province catch up and keep up with demand, starting with hip and knee replacement surgery and dental surgery. It will also improve patient experience, by focusing on improving surgical pathways, co-ordination of care and information provided to patients.
Joint replacement surgeries at Fraser Health
In 2016-17, Fraser Health completed 3,363 scheduled hip and knee surgeries.
Fraser Health hip replacements:
- During the 2017-18 fiscal year, as of February 28, 2018, there were 1,055 hip replacements performed throughout Fraser Health.
- Average age of hip replacement recipients is 66 years (patients ages ranged from 26 to 95 years).
- Number of patients waiting as of February 28, 2018 was 556.
Fraser Health knee replacements:
- During the 2017-18 fiscal year, as of February 28, 2018, there were 2,323 knee replacements.
- Average age of knee replacement recipients is 69 years (patients ages ranged from 26 to 95 years).
- Number of patients waiting as of February 28, 2018 was 1,898.
The projected number of hip and knee replacement surgeries in 2018-19 is 4,436.
The number of patients waiting is measured from the time a surgeon communicates a patient’s surgical needs to the time it takes to get an appointment booked at a hospital.
