As part of the plan to reduce the backlog of surgeries in the region, Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) has partnered with Barrie Lasik Centre to increase capacity and reduce wait times for eye care procedures.
Under the agreement, eligible surgeries will be performed, beginning July 11, by RVH ophthalmologists at Barrie Lasik Centre at 500 Huronia Road, Suite 204 in Barrie. It will be the same procedure done at RVH, just in a different location. Anesthesiologists involved in the procedures will be credentialled by RVH, while cataract specialty nurses from Barrie Lasik will be trained on RVH standards and procedures. All the same COVID-19 safety precautions will be in place at Barrie Lasik Centre as at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre.
“We are pleased to have found such a skilled partner in Barrie Lasik Centre,” says Nancy Savage, Executive Vice President, Clinical, Regional Vice President, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario). “Given that RVH surgeons will be performing the procedures they would normally do at RVH, it was crucial to find a partner that could replicate the same conditions found in our operating rooms.”
It is expected that 80 to 90 per cent of Simcoe Muskoka cataract patients will meet the criteria for off-site surgery.
“This is a huge win for not only patients requiring cataract procedures but also for all RVH surgical patients,” says Dr. John Rissanen, RVH Surgery Program Medical Director. “Over 2,000 cataract surgeries are performed yearly at RVH. By moving the majority of these offsite to Barrie Lasik, RVH will increase capacity and reduce wait times for cataract surgery, as well as free up additional operating room time, which will be used to address surgical waitlists and other priorities.”
Care teams will review each patient case to determine who meets the criteria to have their procedure done at Barrie Lasik Centre. Patients do not need to call RVH or Barrie Lasik about their surgery. Those who qualify will be contacted by their surgeon’s office.
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