Shorter Wait Times for Eye Surgeries
More Nova Scotians will get their eye surgeries sooner thanks to an expanded partnership between Nova Scotia Health and Halifax Vision Surgical Centre.
Under a new agreement, the centre will perform up to 6,000 cataract surgeries next year, an increase of about 3,700 from this year. The surgeries will continue to be available to patients at no cost and will be performed by the same eye surgeons who perform surgeries through Nova Scotia Health.
“We know vision impairment can have a devastating effect on a person’s life,” said Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health and Wellness. “This expanded partnership with Halifax Vision will help Nova Scotians who are waiting for much-needed eye surgeries see the world a little clearer and brighter, sooner.”
Relocating cataract surgeries will free up operating room time for more complex eye surgeries at Nova Scotia Health’s Eye Care Centre, which provides specialized surgeries for people across the Maritimes. Doctors at the Eye Care Centre, located at the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, perform retina, glaucoma and oculoplastic surgeries, which can include procedures on eye sockets, eyelids, tear ducts and the face.
The new contract with Halifax Vision Surgical Centre will be worth about $5 million a year. The centre has been performing cataract surgeries for Nova Scotia Health since 2020.
Reducing wait times for surgeries is part of the Action for Health, the government’s strategic plan to improve healthcare in Nova Scotia.
Quotes:
“Our partnership with Halifax Vison Surgical Centre has so far allowed close to 4,000 patients to have their much-needed cataract surgery, in a time when surgeries were being restricted in the hospital due to the pandemic. This expanded partnership will comprehensively address waiting times in all areas of ophthalmology, allowing patients from the whole province timely access to eye surgeries.”
– Dr. Marcelo Nicolela, Chief of Ophthalmology, Nova Scotia Health
Quick Facts:
- since 2020, Nova Scotia Health has paid about $4.2 million to Halifax Vision Surgical Centre; this does not include physician fees, which are billed directly to MSI
Additional Resources:
Action for Health: https://novascotia.ca/actionforhealth/
Mandate letter of the Minister of Health and Wellness: https://novascotia.ca/exec_council/letters-2021/ministerial-mandate-letter-2021-DHW.pdf