The work to resume surgeries has started, and we will be working to the following target timeline for surgical renewal:
- May 7-15: Patient outreach, pre-operative screening and implementation planning;
- May 18: Surgical services begin, increasing capacity over four weeks to near normal pre-COVID levels;
- May 31: All private contracted facilities working at maximum available capacity;
- June: Begin recruitment and training of new staff;
- June 15: All existing operating rooms running at full available capacity;
- June 15 – October 15: Incrementally bringing on additional capacity through:
- extending daily hours of operation;
- adding Saturdays and Sundays to the schedule; and,
- opening new operating rooms where available.
- July: Ministry of Health’s first monthly public progress report on surgical renewal; and,
- July – August: Optimize full capacity over the summer period.
To view the entire plan: A Commitment to Surgical Renewal in BC