Supplied by the Northeast Local Health Integration Network…        April 13, 2015 — Attention fellow Northerners with aching knees and hips … the NE LHIN has reduced wait times for joint replacement surgeries performed by Northeastern Ontario surgeons.

 

In the two years since the North East LHIN completed its first Integrated Orthopaedic Capacity Plan, highlights include: ” Knee replacement waits have almost halved from 409 days to 258, and hip wait times reduced from 279 to 206 days.  ” Almost 80% of hip surgeries in Northeastern Ontario are making the provincial wait times target of 182 days (vs. 71% in 2012), and 73% of knees (vs. 53% in 2012). ” Overall the NE LHIN has increased the volume of hip and knee replacements by 15% since 2012/13, resulting in 378 more surgeries in Northeastern Ontario.

 

“While more work remains to be done, there’s great system progress underway to ensure more Northerners are getting the quality care they need more quickly and closer to where they live,” said North East LHIN CEO Louise Paquette.  “The efforts made by our region’s orthopedic surgeons to help achieve better wait-times and better care for Northerners has been remarkable.”

 

Nipissing University professor Matti Saari says he was “thoroughly impressed” with his recent experience with LHIN-funded joint assessment centres. “I used to run marathons, but prior to surgery I was in constant pain with arthritis.” His quick assessment at the North East Joint Assessment Centre (NE JAC) in North Bay determined he was a candidate for hip surgery.

 

In his case, from surgical consultation through to surgery last summer, was just under four months. “What I liked was how well everything was coordinated through the assessment centre,” says Professor Saari. “It was totally seamless. The advanced practice physiotherapist included me in looking at my X-rays, and even the needed post-surgery homecare devices were delivered and removed without any problems.”

 

Through North East LHIN funding, the region now has five Joint Assessment Centres – in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, North Bay and Parry Sound.  The centres have been instrumental in helping to bring down wait times and to get Northerners the right kind of care for their hip or knee ailments.

 

“More Northerners continue to benefit from timely assessments through the assessment centres to get more care options, referral to the first available surgeon and information about how to manage their pain,” said Dr. Eric  Robinson, orthopaedic surgeon, Health Sciences North (Sudbury).

 

Joint assessment centres are now seen as a best practice, providing a centralized access point for patients to be assessed for joint replacement surgery.

 

” Since 2010, Joint Assessment Centres have completed over 19,000 assessments on Northerners, finding 67% of patients do not require a surgeon’s consultation. ” 82% of primary hip replacements are completed in Northeastern Ontario hospitals (compared to 56% in 2009).

 

The success of the hip and knee assessment centres has led to the expansion of the centres to shoulder assessments which is now underway at centres at Health Sciences North (Sudbury) and Timmins and District Hospital and soon at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

 

FACTS:

 

” People with chronic hip or knee pain are encouraged to ask their Primary Care Provider (family physician or nurse practitioner) about the North East Joint Assessment Centre (NE JAC). The referral form can be found on the NE LHIN website (www.nelhin.on.ca). ” NE JAC use is helping to contribute to better wait times for hip and knee replacement assessments and surgery, timely identification and management of patients who are not surgical candidates, better patient education regarding appropriate community resources, improved overall quality of care, and less need for patients to travel outside of the North East for surgery.