More money for hip and knee replacements
The B.C. Liberal government has come up $20.7 million to improve patient access to hip and knee replacement surgeries plus a wide range of diagnostic procedures.
About $16 million will provide 1,600 orthopedic surgeries, including hips, knees and 100 arthroscopic and spinal surgeries at B.C. Children's Hospital.
The government says demand for hip and knee replacements is growing as the population ages.
The number of hip replacements was up by 23 per cent in the past three years, and the number knee replacements done was up by 33 per cent.
- LINK: Government announcement
"This isn't a sort of a one-time quick-fix deal. We're all aging. We've got growing technology costs. We've got growing pharmaceutical costs," says Premier Gordon Campbell.
Last month, the government provided an extra $5 million to reduce wait times for cardiac surgeries.