​Better Use of Operating Rooms: think outside the New Brunswick Box

For years New Brunswick has had this public policy tug of war at the expense of patients who suffer from issues requiring sometimes even minor surgical correction.  The tug of war is:  lots of Operating Room Space and getting much better with new construction, specialist surgeons who could and would love to do more work but cannot get surgical hours in the Operating Room.

In the middle of the pack is the patient whose gynecological issue really needed repair or the acutely painful joints that could be fixed in a flash or the vascular challenges that would benefit from repair in a few days not a few weeks.  In tugs of war, it is always the patient in the middle in health care and, for them, not only is it not pleasant but it is often unnecessary.

For decades in New Brunswick, the typical discussion of surgical wait times and access to operating room time has degenerated into “shortage or nurses and shortage of anaesthetists.”  That theme was carried again in Andrew Waugh’s article on November 29, 2023 dealing with Hip, Knee Surgical push…

Read More