For months, Peter Joy spent part of each day soaking his sore foot in a bucket of ice water to relieve the burning pain.
He couldn’t work. He could not walk. He could not even swim – one of his favorite exercises – because of the unbearable pain in the big toe of his left foot.
“Even resistance to kicking in the water would increase the pain in the toes,” he said. “My life was taken away from me.”
Joy was included in a list of recommendations in November to see the first surgeon available, and was then told in February that he would have to wait up to 18 months for surgery at BC to treat osteoarthritis at the base of his toes.
“It crushed me,” said Joy, a psychologist from Surrey, a pain specialist.
Not wanting to wait more than a year, Joy chose to pay nearly $ 12,000 for an operation in Seattle, Washington, in April this year.
Until the procedure, Joy was among the thousands of British Colombians waiting for a planned operation. Currently, just over 88,300 patients are on the waiting list for BC surgery. Some of the longest waits are for orthopedic surgery, as Joy waited.
Daily pain is too much to bear
Expectations are due in part to the pandemic, which prompted planned operations such as orthopedic surgery to be postponed.
Orthopedic surgeons told CBC News that the pandemic and natural disasters, namely floods and forest fires in British Columbia, have also exacerbated staff shortages. Doctors also say there are not enough beds.
The province says it is aware of the long waits and is trying to tackle the problem by opening new operating rooms and hiring more staff, including surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists.
But the changes didn’t come soon enough for Joy, who said the daily pain was too much to bear.
“I was really depressed,” said Joy, who has been a practicing psychologist for more than 30 years.
Joy said he contacted a private clinic in Vancouver, but was told he was not eligible for private orthopedic surgery in the province.
Peter Joy decided to have surgery in Seattle, Washington, after being told he would have to wait up to 18 months to receive his procedure in British Columbia (Baneet Braich / CBC).
He considered paying for an operation in another province, but decided that driving to Seattle for consultation, surgery and follow-up would be more convenient than options in Calgary or Toronto, neither of which responded immediately to his inquiries.
The total cost to Seattle, including travel and accommodation, is comparable to Canadian options outside the province, he said.
Dr. Sarah Jurek, an orthopedic surgeon in Seattle, says she saw a small increase in Canadian customers during the pandemic.
“I have never had a Canadian patient before, but I had three [in the past eight months],” she said.
At least one of her Canadian patients cited long waiting times as the main reason she traveled to the United States for surgery.
Finding relief abroad
Other British Colombians have flown around the world to relieve their pain.
Lauren Swansea, a recreation therapist in Vancouver, was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease last year.
She said she experienced severe nervous pain in her lower back, pelvis and legs, which presented as a burning or tingling sensation.
“I’ve been in incredible pain all day.”
After months of waiting in pain, Vancouver-based Lauren Swansea said she had decided to have surgery in France. (Lauren Swan)
In March 2021, she was put on a waiting list for surgery and was later told she could undergo elective surgery in June 2022 at the earliest. But even that is unlikely, she said.
“My mental health was so affected that my family and friends were not sure if I was waiting to be operated on, if I would still be here,” she said.
After months of waiting, she decided to travel to France for surgery in February, paying $ 30,000, including travel and accommodation expenses.
“Our medical system has not been able to support my needs,” she said.
Calculated risk
Patients may consider leaving Canada for surgery because they feel it is faster to access or the quality is better elsewhere, said Jason Sutherland, director of the Center for Health Services and Research at the University of British Columbia.
But Sutherland warns that adverse outcomes, such as postoperative infections, could lead to higher costs for those operating outside of Canada.
“If you are not treated… if you are discharged from a foreign hospital, you can really get sick of it,” he said.
While operations abroad may seem faster to access, adverse outcomes could further endanger health and increase costs, says UBC professor Jason Sutherland. (Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock)
He adds that the operation abroad may still mean you have to wait a long time for rehabilitation when you return to British Columbia
However, patients who choose to leave the country for surgery are a reflection of a “failed system,” said Dr. Cassandra Lane Dillworth, president-elect of the Orthopedic Association of British Columbia.
Dr Dielwart described a “surgical crisis” in BC, noting that patients lost their jobs, became addicted to drugs and became depressed while waiting for surgery.
Joy and Swann say their experiences outside the country reflect the frustration of thousands of people waiting in pain for operations within British Columbia’s public health system.
“Part of me is really angry about how our health care system is misleading so many who are suffering,” Joy said.
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