Ontario, Canada, has an 84-week backlog of nonurgent surgeries delayed because of COVID-19 that will take 717 surgeries, 719 operating room hours, 265 hospital ward beds, and 9 intensive care unit (ICU) beds per week to clear, according to a time series modeling study published today in CMAJ.Researchers at the government agency Ontario Health identified the 19-month logjam after analyzing administrative data on historical surgical volumes and operating room productivity by surgery type and region and lengths of general-ward and ICU stays from Jan 1, 2017, to Jun 13, 2020.
They also developed a deterministic, Microsoft Excel–based tool to help other regions plan to address their surgical backlogs.Tackling backlog while maintaining surge