The University Hospital of Northern B.C. (UHNBC) performed six per cent fewer surgeries post-COVID in 2022-23 than in the year before the pandemic (2019-20), according to a report released by the B.C. government on Thursday.
A total of 17,782 surgeries were performed at UHNBC in the 2022-23 fiscal year (April 1 to March 31), down from 18,914 procedures performed in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Throughout B.C., the total number of surgeries was up by four per cent, compared to the pre-COVID baseline year. In 2022-23, 350,886 surgeries were completed across the province – 14,709 more than in 2019-20.
"By increasing our province's surgical performance we are reducing wait times and increasing access to much needed surgeries,” B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement issued on Thursday. “This means improving people's quality of life, getting people back to their daily routines more quickly, and helping people get the surgical care they need."
The total number of surgeries were up nine per cent in Fraser Health, eight per cent in Interior Health and seven per cent in Island Health. Vancouver Coastal Health saw a two per cent decrease and the Provincial Health Services Authority saw an eight per cent decrease. Data reported for Northern Health was based on UNHBC only.
Across B.C., the waitlist for surgeries dropped from 93,836 in 2019-20 to 89,274 in 2022-23 (down 4.9 per cent), while in the Northern Health region the waitlist has grown from 4,419 to 6,981 over the same period (up 58 per cent).
Nine per cent more urgent surgeries in B.C. were performed in less than four weeks, and 10 per cent more non-urgent surgeries were performed for people waiting more than twice the target wait time. In the Northern Health region, one per cent more urgent surgeries were performed at UHNBC in less than four weeks and 91 per cent more non-urgent surgeries were performed for people waiting more than twice the target wait time.
Northern Health and Fraser Health were the only two health authorities to have completed 100 per cent of the surgeries postponed due to public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Province-wide, more than 99.7 per cent of surgeries postponed due to the pandemic were now complete.
Across B.C., available operating room hours were up by five per cent in 2022-23, while at UHNBC operating room hours were down six per cent.
