Sask. turns to private clinic to cut surgery wait times
August 30, 2010
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THE CANADIAN PRESS
REGINA—Saskatchewan has turned to private health care to help clear up a backlog of patients waiting for day surgeries.
The province says the Regina health region has started booking patients for dental surgery and knee arthroscopy procedures at Omni Surgery Centre, a private surgical facility.
Health Minister Don McMorris says the move will help shorten wait times for some day surgeries and the setting will be more convenient for patients.
McMorris says the surgeries will be funded within the public health system, so patients won’t have to pay for services and no one will be allowed to jump the queue.
The government announced in June that it would look to the private sector for some surgeries or CT scans, but the move was not without controversy.
The Opposition NDP said having CT scans done by a third party is “a step down the road” to the privatization of health care.
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