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More good news for london hospitals!

London's $13-million share is part of a $222-million provincial package.

By JOHN MINER, FREE PRESS HEALTH REPORTER AND NEWS SERVICES



London hospitals are being given more than $13 million by the province to cut wait times for cancer surgery, cardiac procedures, hip and knee replacements, cataract operations and MRI and CT scans.

"It is all new, fresh money," London-Fanshawe MPP Khalil Ramal said yesterday, adding it will ensure patients receive the care they need and receive it more quickly.

The additional money, part of a $222-million package for the province, was announced as the government released the latest wait-time statistics that showed improvement in key areas.

In London, the money will pay for 5,278 added procedures, including 465 cancer surgeries, 722 cardiac procedures, 650 cataract surgeries, 321 hip and knee replacements and 3,120 MRI exams.

London Health Sciences Centre receives the bulk of the money, $12.7 million, while St. Joseph's Health Care is getting $848,000.

Health Minister George Smitherman says the province has already made great strides in reducing wait times for the procedures, which had all been increasing a year ago.

Ontario's wait times for cancer surgery and cardiac procedures -- the two biggest lifesavers -- are now within national guidelines, he said.

Dr. Alan Hudson, head of Ontario's Wait-Time Strategy, said yesterday the province should celebrate the gains made in cutting key waits.

"The two big killers, cancer and cardiac, already are within the targets set by . . . Smitherman last December. That's a fact," said Hudson.

"The others are all heading towards the targets, heading in the right direction. When we started this, the wait times were all going up."

Data specific to London covering December 2005 to January 2006 indicated the wait for total hip replacement operations was an average of 148 days, down from 252 days in August and September 2005.

Knee replacement waits averaged 228 days, down from 273 days last summer.

WAIT-TIME FUNDING

Here's what area hospitals will receive from a $222-million provincial package announced yesterday:

- London Health Sciences Centre $12.7 million

- St. Joseph's Health Care London $848,000

- Owen Sound $3.6 million

- Stratford General $862,583

- Woodstock $683,500

- Strathroy Middlesex $153,000

- St. Thomas Elgin $126,877

- Clinton Public $112,000

- Alexandra (Ingersoll) $105,000