The plan was to slash N.L.'s wait list for heart surgery. Instead, it's even longer
With new hires arriving, clinical chief is optimistic wait list will soon be shortened
Close to 200 Newfoundland and Labrador patients are waiting for heart surgery, an indication of a wait-list that is stubbornly growing despite the recruitment of surgeons and help from doctors at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
A year and a half ago, when COVID-19 restrictions were still in place, the wait-list for heart surgery in the province hovered around 150 patients.
At the time, the clinical chief of the cardiac-care program said he hoped to get the list down to 50 or 60 patients.
As of mid–December, the wait-list has become longer than it was in 2022.
"Waiting is terrible. No one hates waiting more than I do, and I can't imagine if I had to wait for heart surgery," said Dr. Sean Connors, a cardiologist and the clinical chief of cardiac care.
"How terrible it would be to wait with no date scheduled for your surgery."
Speaking to CBC News last week, Connors said the wait-list number was 195 people, about a quarter of whom are already in hospital.
"That's split between about 150 at home and the rest at hospitals around the province," said Connors.
To hear that the wait-list has gone up instead of down is tremendously disappointing.- Tony Wakeham
Connors said a shortage of heart surgeons earlier this year made it impossible to keep up with the demand for surgeries.
"For some time over the summer and the spring, we were down to three and then two cardiac surgeons even for a couple of months," he said.
N.L. Health Services aims to have four cardiac surgeons working in the province at all times, Connors said, but heart surgeons are in demand worldwide and it's been difficult to keep them.
"There was this turnover because we'd hired young cardiac surgeons — young, brilliant cardiac surgeons. We had one leave to go to the U.S. You know, when you have great surgeons, these great opportunities are going to come up, and so that did cut our capacity."
A memorandum of understanding with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute announced in May 2022 saw 50 patients from this province travel to Ontario for heart surgery.
"We were able to get a lot of people their surgery by sending them to the Ottawa Heart Institute. So we had another conduit, another pathway where our patients could get their surgery without waiting too long," said Connors.
The MOU, which expired in May, has been renewed for two years. As of Oct. 31, cardiac surgeons there have made 29 visits to Newfoundland and Labrador and performed cardiac surgery on more than 200 N.L. patients.
"Since May, we've been able to contain the capacity to this province without having to send people out on a routine basis for heart surgery," said Connors.
"I think that's a very promising thing because if we have to deploy resources to send people up there, I think it makes a lot of sense to invest those resources in our own program right here at home."
Under the new MOU, patients can still be sent to Ottawa, if required.
More surgeons have been hired
Connors says Newfoundland and Labrador expects to have five heart surgeons based in St. John's early in 2024.
For the first time in the history of this province, we are going to have five outstanding cardiac surgeons here on a full-time basis.- Dr. Sean Connors
"We've recruited two of the surgeons from the Ottawa Heart Institute to come here permanently. Just a few weeks ago in mid-November, they arrived. They live here now. They've started their work and their intention is to stay here," he said.
Connors also said a fifth heart surgeon, who is originally from the province, has been hired and is expected to start work here in February.
"For the first time in the history of this province, we are going to have five outstanding cardiac surgeons here on a full-time basis. We've never ever had that before," said Connors.
It's also expected that a new Newfoundland and Labrador Cardiovascular and Stroke Institute announced last February will eventually improve the province's capacity to perform heart surgeries.
"I see things moving. We've been dealing with architects, we've seen plans, we've seen structure. We've seen a proposed location of where this is going to sit and how it knits with the Health Sciences [Centre in St. John's] and with the new mental health and addictions building," Said Connors.
"I'm very optimistic and I'm going to say that in five years time we'll be able to turn on the lights and offer people world-class innovative cardiovascular and stroke treatment in a new building."
Connors still expects the wait-list for heart surgery will eventually drop to 50 or 60 patients.
'They're holding their breath'
The province's Progressive Conservative Opposition says it regularly gets calls from concerned heart patients and their families.
"Every single day here in my office, in our offices, we hear from people who are waiting for cardiac surgery of different types," said PC Leader Tony Wakeham.
"They're holding their breath and sitting patiently at home waiting for that call to come and to hear that the wait list has gone up instead of down is tremendously disappointing."
It's good that new surgeons have been hired, said Wakeham, but the cardiovascular and stroke institute promised last year is long overdue.
"The Cardiac Care Centre of Excellence is something that we had in our blue books as a commitment since 2019," said Wakeham, referring to a Tory campaign platform from the last two general elections.
"I know the professionals themselves that work in that area have been calling for that centre of excellence for years before that."
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