Arthritis Society Canada welcomes Ontario plan to reduce wait times

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arthritis Society Canada supports the Ontario government’s announcement made earlier today: Ontario Reducing Wait Times for Surgeries and Procedures. A recent report from the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) indicates that it could take up to three years to clear the pandemic backlog for joint replacements. Today’s announcement outlines a three-step plan to integrate community surgery centres and speed up how quickly people can get life-changing joint replacement surgery using their health card by 2024.  

“Arthritis Society Canada welcomes new and innovative approaches to address wait times for joint replacement surgery. Living on a surgical wait list can mean living in devastating pain that restricts people’s mobility, prevents them from working and spending quality time with family and friends. We look forward to working with the Ontario government to make sure that people living in unbearable pain due to arthritis do not have to wait for the surgery they need,” said Dr. Siân Bevan, Chief Science Officer. 

As the Ontario government implements new community surgical and diagnostic centres, Arthritis Society Canada reinforces that the model must be focused on improving health outcomes, include high-quality standards and data tracking, integrate with other hospitals and health systems and be transparent and publicly funded.  

We believe the arthritis community voice is critical to these discussions and should be at the table and part of these important decisions. 

Arthritis Society Canada’s priority is to ensure that people with arthritis have access to the life-changing treatments and information they need to fight the fire of Canada’s most common chronic condition.  

Learn more by reading Arthritis Society Canada’s position statement on wait times and our advocacy resources on reducing wait times for joint replacement surgeries.  

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About Arthritis Society Canada     

Fueled by the trust and support of our donors and volunteers, Arthritis Society Canada is Canada’s national health charity fighting the fire of arthritis with the fire of research, advocacy, innovation, information and support. We represent the six million Canadians living with arthritis today, and the millions more who are impacted or at risk. Arthritis Society Canada is accredited under Imagine Canada’s Standards Program. For more information, visit arthritis.ca. 
 
For more information or to arrange interviews:      
  
Katherine Janson  
Sr. Director, Corporate Communications and Content   
416-882-5773  
kjanson@arthritis.ca   

Brigitte Fortin   
Directrice du marketing et des communications   
514-688-0533     
bfortin@arthrite.ca   

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