N.L. to test new model to increase hip and knee surgeries

Newfoundland and Labrador is looking to increase the number of people gettinghip and knee replacements with a new surgery model that could one day be expanded for other procedures.

Premier Andrew Fureytold reporters Wednesday that the strategy which involves a team of surgeons travelling between Carbonear and St. Anthony once a month could increase the number of hip and knee replacements by 300 each year.

"We know that we have infrastructure that's being underutilized," Furey said, referring to operating rooms in the two communities.

"Instead of having them come into St. John's, we're having the expertise sent to them."

Dr. William Moores, Eastern Health's head of orthopedics, said the strategy adds capacity for replacement surgeries provincewideand could increase surgeries by 30 per cent per year a welcome boost,he said, given the backlog of joint replacement surgeries and expected increase in demand as the population ages.

Furey said his government selected orthopedic surgery due to its historically long wait list.

"It is an easy metric to measure," he said."This is why we started with this one. It's nota nebulous wait list. It's a real wait list. It's one that you can track and follow and see if you're having an impact."

If the model works, he added, it could be applied to other types of procedures across the province.

The premier said increasing the number of surgeries in rural areas could increase the possibility of complications under an already-strained health-care system that's seen a rash of emergency room closures in recent months.

But that's not a reason, he said, to prolong the wait for surgeries.

"You can't not do it because there could be a complication," he said.

Furey said both operating rooms, atCarbonear General Hospital and Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital, would need some enhancements before the new model begins.

Read morefrom CBC Newfoundland and Labrador