There was reason to celebrate this year for the annual Hip Hip Hooray walk at Bell Park Sunday.
Not only does the walk raise approximately $15,000 for equipment and training, but the actual wait times patients have to endure before being treated has declined, thanks to more provincial funding, said Eric Robinson, orthopedic surgeon at the Sudbury Regional Hospital.
“Typically, it takes a year to be seen and then a year to have the operation, but in the past the situation was worse. We did get some new funding so we have more operation room time to deal with this (the backlog). In the past it was much longer before you could get your surgery done,” he said.
Robinson said his department has six qualified surgeons to handle the cases but he could use a few more.
“We just do not have enough of these surgeons around. I know that in Quebec, graduates are told where they must start their practice. Is that a good idea? I don't know.”
The real problem is growing demand, he said.
“It is a well-known fact that the city of Sudbury has an older population. As a result, the amount of joint replacement is increasing. They live longer so they will be back a second or even third time, so the demand is there,” he said.
“We are funded to do more but it is hard to get the patients in because of bed shortages in the hospital,” he said.
The Hip Hip Hooray event is held across Canada at this time, said Robinson.
“Every bigger community does this event. It is a celebration of their successful operations. Many of the patients before their surgery, whether for hip or knee replacements, are in constant pain, can't walk and have no quality of life,” he said.
Half the money goes to the national orthopedic foundation for research while the rest is for local programs, said Robinson.
Elizabeth Lacelle, organizer of the event, said 30 registered nurses and paramedical staff volunteered for the walk.
She said it takes a lot of nursing staff time to be able to deal with the needs of the patients.
“We don't have enough hands and minds from nurses. There are 100 vacancies for nurses in Sudbury right now,” she said.