A growing number of patients in Ontario are currently awaiting medical procedures that have been cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That includes surgeries at the London Health sciences Centre (LHSC) that may take years to clear.
Tiffany Loyer’s 10-year-old son Owen is one of many patients waiting for an important medical procedure. Loyer said he needs a cecostomy tube to help manage his symptoms.
The mother of three said he has a condition that affects his ability to go to the washroom.
Last April, their family decided getting a cecostomy would be best to help with his symptoms and improve his quality of life.
“We just want him to have that quality of life that he deserves to have,” said Loyer.
His procedure was scheduled for Sept. 2021. In December he was put on a waiting list. But since then, the family hasn't been told when it will be rescheduled to. But not for a lack of trying, as Loyer has worked tirelessly to make sure her son receives the treatment he needs.
“Whenever we get a call from the doctor we sometimes get our hopes up,” said Owen.
The pandemic has led to significant delays in surgeries across the country due to reduced space in hospitals and staffing shortages.
On Monday, Dr. Adam Dukelow at London Health Sciences Centre said he expects it could take up to five years for the backlog of patients to clear.
“There are just over 7,000 cases in our total surgical backlog. That doesn’t include backlogs in things like imaging or non-surgical procedures,” said the chief medical officer for LHSC.
The hospital expects to announce what services will resume and when in the coming days, according to Dukelow.
Melodie Cyr 25, experienced a delay in her healthcare needs early in the pandemic.
In the spring of 2020, the day before her biopsy she got a call saying her procedure was non-essential and was cancelled.
She said she had to wait a year to get a biopsy which showed a pre-cancerous nodule in her thyroid. She has since undergone surgery, however, the process of waiting and constantly seeking help was not easy.
“I was really pushy and I think that helped me get my services a little faster,” she said. “I think that’s important for whoever else is waiting just to push and advocate for yourself.”
Previously living in Brantford, Cyr is now a researcher who studies cancer in Sudbury while also working on her Ph.D. in medical physics.
Liz Scanlon, the director of health policy and systems at Heart & Stroke told CTV News that there are people who are afraid to seek medical care at hospitals due to the pandemic, which has unfortunately, led to more people not getting the treatment they need.
“People who arrive at the hospital are sicker now than they would've expected them to be pre-pandemic,” said Scanlon.
She suggests that people should reach out to their health care provider if they see a change in symptoms.
“People themselves are waiting longer and then when they get into the system they have to wait longer,” said Scanlon. “We cannot delay folks any longer than we absolutely have to.”
Though some procedures should resume gradually in Ontario, Owen and his family are feeling left in the dark as they don’t know how long they will have to wait.
“I just hope for anybody that is going through this wait right now that they will get their call soon,” said Loyer. “It’s not fun to sit around and wait, wondering every day.”
