Wait Time Information – Prostate Cancer Surgery: Q3 2012-2013

Q: What is Cancer Surgery?

Cancer surgery is an operation to repair or remove part of the body in the treatment of cancer.

Q: Who goes on a wait list?

Anyone who needs a treatment that has a wait list is placed on the list, unless it is an emergency.Emergency patients are treated as quickly as possible.

Q: What is Prostate Cancer Surgery?

Prostate cancer surgery is an operation to repair or remove part of the group of cancers found in theprostate region.

Q: Where will I be referred to have this surgery?

Ask your doctor/specialist where you can have your cancer surgery done, as these procedures areperformed in the following hospitals:

Eastern Health
General Hospital – Health Sciences Centre – St. John’s

Central Health
Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre – Grand Falls-Windsor

Western Health
Western Memorial Regional Hospital – Corner Brook

Q: How are wait times measured?

For this operation, the wait time is measured from when you and your surgeon decide to proceed withsurgery for the confirmed cancer to when the procedure is completed. In Central Health it is the physicianpractice to schedule surgery 42 – 56 days after a prostate biopsy.

Q: What is the benchmark wait time for cancer surgery?

There is no national benchmark for this surgical procedure.

Table 1: Prostate Cancer Surgery Wait Times for Q3 (October 1 – December 31, 2012-2013)

Hospital Number of Procedures 5 out of 10 patients had surgery within this number of days 9 out of 10 patients had surgery within this number of days
Regional Health Authority: Eastern
Health Sciences Centre 15 26 50
Regional Health Authority: Central
Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre DS DS DS
Regional Health Authority: Western
Western Memorial Regional Hospital 7 60 62

Source: Regional Health Authorities, Newfoundland and Labrador
DS: Data Suppression – This indicates that a hospital performed 5 or less cases during the reporting period. To protect patient privacy, wait times associated with these small volumes will not be reported.
Date: April 30, 2013

Figure 1: Prostate Cancer Surgery Wait Times for Q3 (October 1 – December 31, 2012-2013)
Wait Times Prostate Cancer Surgery
Source: Regional Health Authorities, Newfoundland and Labrador
DS: Data Suppression – This indicates that a hospital performed 5 or less cases during the reporting period. To protect patient privacy, wait times associated with these small volumes will not be reported.
Date: April 30, 2013

Wait Time Information – Prostate Cancer Surgery (129 KB)