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RQHR Third-Party Surgery Vendor Chosen

Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region News Release, Regina June 15, 2011

Patients should soon see shorter wait times for some surgical procedures as a new third-party surgical clinic begins operation in Regina this fall.

The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) has selected Surgical Centres Inc. (SCI) of Calgary as the vendor for the provision of some surgical services within the region. The contract will run from October 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013.

“We are very pleased to welcome SCI to Saskatchewan,” said Trent Truscott, RQHR’s Executive Director of Surgical Care Services. “SCI has more than 20 years of experience in providing surgical services, and we are confident they will provide quality service to the patients of Regina Qu’Appelle.”

SCI will provide surgeries in areas including: ear, nose and throat; orthopedics; and dental. As of June 2, 2011, there were approximately 1,500 patients waiting for services which could be provided through the SCI clinic.

“We anticipate this expanded service will have a positive impact on wait times for these surgical procedures, which is good news for our patients,” Truscott said. “In addition, this frees up surgical time for other procedures in our acute care facilities, so patients with other surgical needs will also wait for shorter periods of time.”

“Our goal is to deliver sooner, safer and smarter surgical care, so that patients receive timely surgery in a convenient manner,” Health Minister Don McMorris said. “This partnership will provide additional day surgeries outside of a hospital setting, and will have a positive effect on wait times and on patients’ surgical experiences.”

SCI was one of the bidders responding to an RQHR Request For Proposals issued in January 2011. Bidders were evaluated on the basis of four primary criteria: credentials and experience; service factors; implementation schedule; and pricing. Each criteria was weighted in determining the successful bidder. SCI’s proposal scored highest overall, and offered the lowest cost.

It is estimated SCI will provide between 3,000 and 4,000 surgeries over the life of the contract. SCI will provide these services at a cost which varies from approximately $1.2 million less than RQHR’s cost at the minimum level, to approximately $1.5 million less than RQHR’s cost at the maximum level.

SCI’s costs are between approximately $2.9 million and $3.8 million depending on the number of surgeries performed.

"We are honoured and proud to have been awarded this contract," said Fatima Fazal, Chief Operating Officer for Surgical Centres Inc. "For more than two decades we have been one of Canada's leading providers of surgical procedures, and we've achieved success by staying focused on our patients and by building effective and honest partnerships with various health care organizations. Through this new agreement, we can continue to provide the people of Saskatchewan with the health service they deserve, while maintaining a community-based setting. We look forward to serving the needs of the patients of Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region."

RQHR has been offering a limited number of third-party surgeries through a sole-source, short-term contract with Omni Surgery Centre since August 2010. That contract is currently scheduled to end September 30, 2011.

The Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative, which recommended third-party surgery as one strategy to reduce wait times, is working to reduce surgical wait times to no more than three months by 2014. By the end of 2011-12, the target is to provide all patients with an opportunity to have their surgery within 12 months.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Thomson

Media Relations Consultant
Communications - Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region
Tel: (306) 766-5332
Cell: (306) 539-4617
E-Mail: lisa.thomson@rqhealth.ca

*Please note – The RFP is currently available on the region’s website at www.rqhealth.ca; the contract will be posted to the website when it is finalized.

Saskatoon Health Region selects Surgical Centres Inc.
as third party surgical provider

Saskatoon Health Region News Release, Saskatoon June 15, 2011

Saskatoon Regional Health Authority today approved a recommendation to award a contract for third party surgical services to Surgical Centres Incorporated (SCI), a Calgary-based company with more than 20 years of performing day surgery in a non-hospital setting in Alberta and British Columbia. SCI has experience in all surgical procedures that the Region is considering to have performed outside a hospital, including cataract surgery, pediatric dental surgery, arthroscopies of the knee, ACL repairs, arthroscopies of the shoulder and shoulder repairs.

"A third party provider will help to improve patient experiences and reduce wait times by providing surgical capacity in addition to that already provided in the Region," says Deb Gudmundson, Saskatoon Health Region's executive director of acute care. "This frees up internal operating room space to complete more complex and inpatient cases within the Region."

SCI was chosen through a request for proposals issued by Saskatoon Health Region in January 2011. Once fully operational, SCI is expected to complete 7,500 to 8,000 day surgeries per year, performed at a separate location to existing Region facilities at a cost equal to or less than existing surgical services in the Region. The new facility is expected to take five to six months to be operational.

SCI's proposal demonstrated sound service in terms of patient safety, quality of care, human resource planning, facility design, implementation schedule, and general operational plans. SCI's proposal was the most cost effective, resulting in significant potential savings for the Region ranging from five per cent to 32 per cent per case. Overall, when considering SCI's pricing for all five procedures, Saskatoon Health Region could save up to 22 per cent of current costs. Pending details of the contract, the total cost is expected to be approximately $7 million.

"Our goal is to deliver sooner, safer and smarter surgical care, so that patients receive timely surgery in a convenient manner," Health Minister Don McMorris said. "This partnership will provide additional day surgeries outside of a hospital setting, and will have a positive effect on wait times and on patients' surgical experiences."

The third party surgical services contract is part of the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative, with a goal that no Saskatchewan resident will wait more than three months for elective surgery by 2014. By the end of 2011-12, the target is to provide all patients with an opportunity to have their surgery within 12 months. As of March 31, 2011 there were 12,536 patients waiting for surgery in Saskatoon Health Region, with 1,640 patients waiting longer than 12 months, including 524 patients who have waited longer than 18 months.

Once a contract with SCI is finalized, it will be posted at saskatoonhealthregion.ca.

For more information contact:
Linda Walker

Media Relations Consultant
Saskatoon Health Region
Office (306) 655-3476
Cell (306) 220-6256

Cataract surgery in Calgary gets $2M boost

Provincial plan targets lengthy Calgary waits

By Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald May 21, 2010

Less than a month after a controversy over cataract surgeries, the province's medical super-board says it will dole out another $2 million to add 1,400 of the procedures and up to 120 corneal transplants in Calgary and Edmonton by September.

The Tories and Alberta Health Services announced Thursday the province will pay for the additional surgeries in a continued attempt to reduce lengthy waiting lists, particularly in Calgary.

"I'm ecstatic," said Dr. Ken Romanchuk, Calgary's chief of ophthalmology with Alberta Health Services. "It's very, very good news for Calgary.

"Our wait list (is) much larger than any of the other health regions."

There will be 1,000 publicly funded cataract surgeries performed at private facilities in Calgary and another 400 in Edmonton -- including 100 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

The surgical blitz, which will cost $2 million, reopens the process to all accredited surgical facilities after ophthalmologists complained about a move at the end of March to concentrate 2,140 eye surgeries at four major centres in Calgary and Edmonton.

It led to cancelled and rescheduled procedures after clinics were given just days to move surgeries from their offices to the chosen clinics.

Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky, who has met with the ophthalmologists, said the earlier bid process led to $1.4 million in savings and allowed the province to move forward with some additional surgeries this summer.

"It's all working out," he said. "I know it's been a little bit rough getting there, but we're getting some positive results from it."

Zwozdesky said the second blitz addresses wait lists, and the concerns of the public and facility owners.

"Everybody who expresses an interest will receive some work," Zwozdesky said. "It will depend on their wait-lists, on their capacity, on their availabilities and so on. It'll get done in a fair manner."

Calgary cataract patients and ophthalmologists applauded the move.

"That sounds like a step in the right direction," said Dr. Robert Mitchell. "Obviously it's a stop-gap, Band-Aid, temporary fix, but it's better than nothing. We've got lots and lots of patients sitting around and waiting for this surgery."

Both Mitchell Eye Centre and the Surgical Centres Inc., the facilities that won the controversial bid in March, said there's lots of capacity to accommodate additional surgeries.

Dr. Howard Gimbel, owner of Gimbel Eye Centre, said it's great news for the patients.

"We are hopeful that it will be distributed so that the people waiting the longest will get the priority," he said.

Jan Joynt, who was diagnosed with cataracts last fall, said she'd like to see the wait list reduced so people like her can move up in the queue.

"I am not critical," she said, noting she was told it could take years to get her surgery. "It would be nice to see the people who are critical done first, naturally."

There's about 8,400 Calgarians on the wait list for cataract surgery and the average wait is about a year, according to AHS.

Romanchuk said the additional surgeries will make a big dent in the list.

"It's about a 30 per cent increase," he said, noting there will be a total of 11,000 cataract surgeries performed this year compared with 8,500 in 2009.

Ophthalmologists said they would like to see even more surgeries added to help clear the wait list -- a strong possibility after the health minister suggested Thursday there could still be a third, fall blitz this year, before the province moves toward five-year contracts in 2011.