British Columbians wait longer than most Canadians for hip, knee replacements, report says

British Columbians are waiting longer than most Canadians for hip-and-knee replacements and cataract surgeries, according to a new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

The independent, not-for-profit organization examined wait times for five priority procedures in provinces across Canada and compiled the data for the new report Wait Times for Priority Procedures in Canada 2016.

The report found only 47 per cent of British Columbians in need of a knee replacement actually had the procedure done within the benchmark time of 182 days, compared to an average of 77 per cent of people across Canada.

Only 61 per cent of people in the province received a hip replacement within the benchmark time and 64 per cent received a cataract surgery within the benchmark time — both below the national average.

Increased demand for surgeries

Tracy Johnson, the director of health system analysis and emerging issues for CIHI, said there could be a number of factors as to why many are waiting for hip and knee replacements.

"We see increases in volumes across the country," she told host Rick Cluff on The Early Edition.

"One of the factors is aging; another is osteoarthritis and obesity are becoming more prevalent, and these are diseases that drive up the need for joint replacements," she said.

Johnson said that another "more influential" factor could be that in recent years joint replacement surgeries have improved and are being performed on younger patients.

He said the percentage of those in British Columbia who are meeting the benchmark time for these two procedures dropped from 2011, but said it could be because in recent years some regions of the province have focused on providing the procedures to those who have been waiting a long time.

B.C. Ministry of Health spokesperson Kristy Anderson said in an email that all health authorities have added additional joint replacement surgeries.

"We know that many patients are waiting too long," she said.

"Between June 2015 and this January, we had done over 6,000 extra surgeries," she said, adding that most of these additional surgeries took place after the time frame of CIHI's recent report, which explored data from April to September 2015 and compared the results with those of the previous four years.

B.C. fares better on hips, radiation therapy

On other procedures, the wait times in British Columbia were just above or just below the national average.

For hip fracture repairs, 91 per cent of British Columbians had the procedure done within the benchmark time, which was higher than the national average.

B.C. was also only slightly lower than the national average wait time for radiation therapy.

"With things like hip fracture for example, it's easier — you fracture your hip, you're transferred to a hospital, and you are right there. Improving processes to ensure that those folks get care is working within that particular facility or hospital system" Johnson said.

"It's easier to improve than when you're looking at something like joint replacement, where you start with your family doctor, then you have to see a specialist, then you have to get your diagnostic imaging, and then go on to your treatment.

"There's a pathway there where … finding efficiencies is more challenging."

With files from CBC's The Early Edition

To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled: Report suggests British Columbians wait longer than most Canadians for hip and knee replacements