Today, the Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, announced two new initiatives to increase orthopaedic surgery capacity in Carbonear and St. Anthony. This builds on ongoing measures to help improve access to health care and reduce wait times for hip and knee joint replacement surgeries in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Premier Furey, along with the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, the Honourable Steve Crocker, MHA for Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde, the Honourable Krista Lynn Howell, MHA for St. Barbe – L-Anse aux Meadows, and Dr. William Moores, Divisional Head of Orthopaedics, Eastern Health, will be available to the media today (Wednesday, November 9) at 12:00 p.m. to discuss these measures. The availability will take place in the East Block lobby, Confederation Building, and will be livestreamed on Facebook.

Work is now underway to utilize operating room capacity at Carbonear General Hospital for inpatient joint replacement surgeries. Traditionally, orthopaedic services at this site were limited to same day surgeries only. To accommodate the addition of joint replacement surgeries, four beds will be opened to admit patients following their surgery. It is anticipated that approximately 160 joint replacement surgeries could be performed at this location annually. Recruitment and training of the required staff will begin in the near future, and the timeline to get surgeries up and running will depend on these factors.

A travelling orthopaedic team will also begin visits to the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony one week each month to perform joint replacement surgeries. Approximately 140 surgeries can be performed at this site annually by the travelling team. It is anticipated that the orthopaedic team could begin surgeries later this month.

There continues to be significant demand for hip and knee replacement surgery in the province, resulting in growing wait times. Reducing waitlists is a priority for all health care stakeholders.

An overview of many of the actions that the Provincial Government has taken to improve access to health care, as well as support the recruitment and retention of health care professionals are outlined in the enclosed backgrounder.

Quotes
“We remain concerned with surgical delays in the province, which is why we established a task force earlier this year. The members continue to identify opportunities where we can improve access to surgeries, as we want to action improvements that will help residents receive quality care in a timely manner. I know first-hand the impacts that are felt by individuals waiting for orthopaedic procedures, and am delighted with these innovative approaches which increase much-needed surgical capacity.”
Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

“We recognize we have to continue to think differently regarding solutions to address issues affecting our health care system such as the backlog of patients waiting for joint replacements. Utilizing these two sites will certainly have a positive impact on these wait times. Our focus remains the provision of quality health care to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and these initiatives certainly align with that focus.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services

“The opening of additional beds at Carbonear General Hospital is an important step toward reducing wait times for orthopaedic surgeries throughout the province. This is an excellent example of how we can use the resources we have more efficiently to meet the health-care needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”
Honourable Steve Crocker
MHA for Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde

“I am very pleased to see this innovative approach to increase access to joint replacement surgeries assigned to the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony. While Curtis Memorial is historically known for providing an excellent orthopaedic service, the travelling team resource is a welcome addition and will have a positive impact on wait times, benefitting residents across the District of St. Barbe – L’Anse aux Meadows.”
Honourable Krista Lynn Howell
MHA for St. Barbe – L-Anse aux Meadows

“Orthopaedic demand has seen a continued increase, as the population of Newfoundland and Labrador ages. This needs to be met with increased resources throughout the province. The two initiatives announced today are both positive steps to increase the provincial capacity to deliver orthopaedic care in a more timely manner and are welcomed by our division and Eastern Health.”
Dr. William Moores
Divisional Head of Orthopaedics
Eastern Health

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Media contacts
Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960
meghanmccabe@gov.nl.ca

Tina Coffey
Health and Community Services
709-729-6554, 687-9903
tcoffey@gov.nl.ca

Tracey Boland
Media Relations Manager
Eastern Health
709-777-1412
traceyl.boland@easternhealth.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Recent Measures to Address the Shortage of Health Care Professionals

• A one-year pilot program to help entice retired family physicians to come back to the workforce.
• Committed to a suite of measures to expand the supply of health care professionals:
• • Creation of new collaborative community team clinics;
• • Increase in virtual care services to assist with the provision of urgent care; and
• • Commitment to further increase the number of graduates from Licensed Practical Nursing Programs by 40 per cent and Personal Care Attendant Programs by 20 per cent.
• Two new programs launched to support family doctors in the province and help improve access to primary health care:
• • The New Family Physician Income Guarantee initiative guarantees a minimum income equivalent to that of a salaried family physician to new family doctors who bill on a fee for service basis and open a family practice clinic – or join an established clinic – for the first two years of their practice. This will ease some of the uncertainty associated with the business aspects of opening a clinic by increasing financial certainty. Funding recipients will be required to enter into a two-year return-in-service agreement with government.
• • The Family Practice Start-Up Program will provide $150,000 to new family practice physicians who open a family practice clinic, or join an existing family practice in the community, and stay in the practice for five years. Recipients who are approved for both programs must sign a five-year return-in-service agreement with government. Additionally, both programs will be linked to establishing a patient roster in the community, as well as the provision of after-hours care.  This is the highest incentive offered to family physicians at this time in Atlantic Canada.
• Initiatives announced in March 2022 to address the challenges facing nurses in the province, including the nursing think tank; Requests for proposals for core staffing review, health human resource plan and workforce research; and an Internationally Educated Nurses Bursary.
• A new Assistant Deputy Minister for the recruitment and retention office has been hired and the office has been established within the Department of Health and Community Services.
• An additional five undergraduate seats have been added to the Memorial University’s Medical School for Newfoundland and Labrador students.
• Launched Extraordinary Every Day, a health care campaign aimed at recruiting and retaining health care professionals.
• Staffing in the regional health authorities has been enhanced to further support recruitment and retention efforts.
• A number of financial incentives and employee supports have been implemented to help address the immediate nursing workforce challenges and help stabilize the workforce.
• Compensation rates for covering emergency rooms in smaller rural health centres (category B facilities) have been increased as a temporary measure until October 31, 2022 to help retain existing physicians at these sites, as well as to attract other locum physicians during periods of vacancy. As well, in Labrador, Category A rates were increased in the last Memorandum of Understanding.
• $30,000 provided to Eastern Health to support students in the Radiation Therapy Program for each of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. This will double Eastern Health’s capacity to support students in the program.
• Come Home 2022 incentive aimed at physicians, nurses and paramedics from Newfoundland and Labrador who have been living outside the province for at least six months and would like to return home to live and work.
• Short-term initiatives for certain frontline health care workers who are members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE) which target areas of the workforce that face significant recruitment challenges.