The Prince Albert Parkland Regional Health Authority board of directors received a report about the region's efforts to meet surgical wait time and volume targets at its regular board meeting March 9 in Prince Albert.
Dr. Edmund Royeppen, senior medical officer, and Carol Gregoryk, vice-president of Integrated Health Services, made a presentation about the region's surgical value stream and the work being done to meet the strategic priority of having all patients in Saskatchewan receiving surgery within three months by 2014 as part of the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative.
In order to meet the 2014 objective, targets for number of surgeries and wait times have been set for the next several years. For Prince Albert Parkland, the target number of surgeries will increase from a base of 5,173 surgeries to 6,096 in 2014-15 - an 18 per cent increase.
As of Jan. 31 the region had performed 4,248 surgical procedures, which means achieving this target number for this fiscal year will be a challenge. In addition to the surgical total, there is a target to eliminate all waits of longer than 18 months. As of January 31st, the region had 21 patients who had waited longer than 18 months for surgery. The region is on target to meet this goal.
In order to achieve the targets, the region has mapped the surgical stream through Lean processes. This map included all of the steps from the family physician's office, to discharge and after surgery care planning. Staff members from a variety of departments have been involved in delving deeper into the Surgical Value Stream, in an effort to reduce waste (wait times and wasted steps), and improve the patient's experience.
The region has received funding from the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative to renovate and re-open a fourth operating room. The renovations are currently underway, with plans to have the room available by early May. The region is discussing staffing needs and funding requirements with the Ministry of Health. The additional operating room will enable the region to increase capacity to meet the targets and reduce wait times for patients.
The next regional Health Authority meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 13, 2011 in the main boardroom at 1521 6th Avenue West in Prince Albert. The meeting begins at 1 p.m.
