Surgeons need solutions - Dr. Angus Maciver

The Ontario Association of General Surgeons views the impasse between the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and the Ontario Medical Association. with concern. We believe consideration is not being given to patients whose health needs are being compromised by continued hospital cutbacks.

Operating time has been dramatically reduced over the past five years. Interesting, while general surgeons pioneered same-day surgery resulting in phenomenal savings to the medical system, we have had operating time increasingly shortened or cancelled. It is now standard procedure for many "non-life threatening" or elective surgeries to be bumped to a future date. The resulting delays cost patients in time, lost days off work and continued stress. In some cases, delayed elective surgeries become dangerous emergencies.

One of the reasons for this situation is quite simple - our cancer, emergency and orthopedic trauma patients are given priority in the operating room. As a result of policies aimed at "volume control" - a euphemism to describe reduced operating room time - we are forced to "bump" regularly scheduled patients. The impact of this ill-designed policy is that, while cancer and acute emergency patients are treated rather quickly, other patients are incredibly inconvenienced, often more than once.

We are not suggesting cancer patients should join the regular queue. We are, however, stating volume control policies have negatively impacted the quality of services we are able to provide to patients. We owe more to our patients. We ask the government for serious consideration. Make proper

access a key issue. No patient deserves second-class status.