Cambridge Memorial Hospital is partnering with a Kitchener-based cataract surgery centre to tackle the backlog in surgeries created when non-urgent surgeries were put on hold in January.
Clear Vision Surgical will serve patients within Cambridge, North Dumfries and the Region of Waterloo who need access to care that has been impacted by the pandemic.
"Not only will this new partnership help these patients needing cataract surgery, but it will help the hospital create more room for patients requiring elective procedures that need to be completed in the hospital," says a press release.
“As we come out of the pandemic, our focus has to shift to our patients that had their elective surgeries deferred these past two years,” said Irene Harder, director, perioperative, women and children programs at the hospital.
The Ontario Health Insurance Plan normally only covers in-hospital cataract surgeries, but the agreement means the clinic will bill the hospital directly and all surgeries it performs will be covered by OHIP.
“By moving some cataract surgeries into the community, it will free up surgery staff to do other procedures and reduce the time to get through our backlog.”
In an interview with CambridgeToday, Harder said cataract surgery patients who want specialized lenses or want faster service are the typical customers of private clinics where they pay out of pocket.
Priority, emergency and cancer surgery cases continued to be performed during the last government order to defer elective procedures.
Of the 1,922 surgeries that were backlogged at CMH, 1,337 cases were for cataract surgeries.
Harder said the province has worked out a number of a memorandums of understanding with private clinics across the province to help clear the backlog of surgeries caused by the pandemic.
The partnership with CMH and Clear Vision Surgical is in place until March 2023, at which time the hospital will reassess its needs, she said.
Patients booked with the hospital began going to surgical appointments at Clear Vision's Sportsworld Crossing facility in Kitchener earlier this week, Harder added, with many already commenting about how accessible it is.
“I am so pleased with this new partnership. We are in a fortunate position to partner and do our part to improve access to health care,” says Mark Recine, chief operating officer at Clear Vision Surgical.
“This will not only help those needing cataract surgeries, it will help other elective procedures. It benefits our respective communities, ensuring people get quicker access to the care they need.”
The partnership with CVS is the second time in recent months CMH has partnered with a private clinic to help clear backlogs caused by the pandemic.
Last August, the hospital partnered with Tri-City Colonoscopy Clinic to help address a backlog in endoscopies.
