Canada's most populous province to bring in private medical facilities to help reduce surgical backlog

　　China News Agency, Toronto, January 16 (Reporter Yu Ruidong) Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, has decided to allow private medical institutions to perform certain surgeries with government funding to reduce the large backlog of surgeries faced by the current medical system.

　　Ontario currently has an estimated backlog of procedures for 206,000 patients.

Before the new crown epidemic, the number was about 200,000.

　　Ontario Premier Ford and Minister of Health Jones announced the province's relevant step-by-step plan to the media on January 16.

As a first step, the province will open private surgical and diagnostic centers in Ottawa, Windsor, Waterloo and elsewhere to deal with backlogs of cataract surgeries.

This is expected to result in an additional 14,000 cataract surgeries per year, accounting for 25 percent of the backlog.

At the same time, the provincial government will invest more than 18 million Canadian dollars in the existing diagnostic center to expedite the processing of MRI, CT scan, other eye surgery, minimally invasive gynecological surgery, etc.

　　The second step is to expand the scope of funded private medical institutions to address regional needs.

Colonoscopy and endoscopy will be included in the scope of funding.

In the third step, the provincial government will pass legislation to expand the scope of MRI and CT scans, and strive to include hip and knee replacement surgery in 2024.

　　There are about 900 private surgical and diagnostic centers in the province.

　　The Ontario provincial government stated that the relevant new measures will be permanent; while providing surgical funding for private medical institutions, measures will be taken to ensure the stability of human resources in public hospitals.

　　When Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau responded to the media, he did not express whether he supported Ontario's move, but said that he would pay close attention to whether the province respects the principles of Canada's universal public healthcare system; at the same time, the federal government will continue to work with provinces and territories to improve medical care situation.

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