(Quebec) While the wait for surgery is still peaking, a dozen surgeons are ready to operate on around thirty patients a day in a brand new private clinic. The problem? The owners have been waiting for the green light from Quebec for a year and a half.
“We’ve been waiting for our license for 18 months, I feel very sad and frustrated. We can’t help the system, we can’t do anything, ”laments the Dr Ali Izadpanah. He and his brother, Arash Izadpanah, founded the Westmount Surgical Institute, a specialty surgery center, in 2021.
Construction was completed in March 2022. Covering 22,000 square feet, the clinic has six operating rooms and 13 recovery rooms. Twenty nurses and eight respiratory therapists, all from the private sector, have even already been hired.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE WESTMOUNT SURGICAL INSTITUTE
The Drs Arash and Ali Izadpanah
“We are completely ready [à entreprendre nos activités] “, assure the two plastic surgeons, also active in the public network, at the Hospital Center of the University of Montreal (CHUM) and at the CIUSSS des Laurentides.
Their infrastructure might allow the practice of several types of day operations covered by the RAMQ, such as orthopedic, urology, ENT and ophthalmology procedures.
These are also four of the five specialties where the number of patients waiting for an operation is the highest, according to the dashboard of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS). The clinic would also offer breast reconstruction and various laser treatments.
Five specialties where the lists are the longest
• Orthopedic surgery: 38,862, including 6,318 for over a year
• Ophthalmology: 32,692
• General surgery: 31,716
• ORL : 20 569
• Urology: 10,467
SOURCE: MSSS dashboard
However, following multiple round trips with the MSSS, which grants the license to operate a specialized medical center (CMS), the two surgeons learned in January that their request was in the process of being refused.
“We inform you that the Minister intends to refuse your permit application for the operation of a CMS since the public interest does not justify it”, writes Deputy Minister Dominique Savoie in a missive, which invites them to present their observations before the final decision is taken.
Radio-Canada reported on Monday the case of two physician entrepreneurs, who received a similar notice following investing to develop two operating theaters in Mount Royal.
Dubé asks for a reassessment
Faced with the glaring needs, Minister Christian Dubé recently asked the MSSS “to re-analyze the clinics for which a notice of refusal has been sent in order to verify how these projects might help us catch up on pending surgeries”, indicated his office, Monday.
“We have been clear, we want to see the waiting lists move,” we wrote in a statement. “CMSs are part of the solution. We want to use them more and perpetuate our agreements with them to continue to benefit Quebecers,” adds the firm.
About fifteen notices of intent to refuse were sent at the start of the year, it was said on Monday. Various reasons can be mentioned, such as the availability of resources, the “complementarity of the offer” in the sector or the vocation desired by the clinic.
“We need to grant permits more quickly, especially for clinics that specialize in surgeries where the need is greatest. If CMS meet the criteria and are ready to contribute, we want to work with them, ”assures Mr. Dubé’s cabinet.
A surgery center project in Saint-Jérôme also made headlines in February, when construction work had to be suspended due to permit delivery delays. In this case, Minister Dubé intervened and the permit was finally granted.
Unexplained slowness
The Izadpanah brothers find it hard to understand the slowness of the permitting process. Moreover, following contesting January’s intention to refuse, the co-owners still have no idea when a decision in their file will be formalized.
In Mr. Dubé’s office, it is indicated that the review process might be completed within the “coming weeks”.
With a capacity of regarding thirty operations per day, the clinic of Drs Izadpanah might reduce waiting lists by nearly 6,000 cases per year, they estimate. “The aim of the project is to help the system [public] “, supports the Dr Or Izadpanah.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Covering 22,000 square feet, the clinic has six operating rooms and 13 recovery rooms.
The entire team of surgeons at the clinic is also committed to continuing to work in the public sector, it was indicated.
The Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec (FMSQ), which sits on the “advisory” committee responsible for studying CMS applications to the ministry, would like the licensing process to go “more smoothly”.
“Whether private clinics that are public, that is to say where the patient does not pay, or in hospitals, we will always be in favor of increasing access, especially in surgery with the current lists” , commented the director of professional affairs, the Dr Rafik Ghali.
Unable to regain control since the pandemic, the health minister showed signs of impatience in February1. In the Chamber, he said he expected to receive a “specific plan” from the FMSQ.
“I have already said: I cannot operate for them. I would like to do it, but I don’t have that skill, ”said Christian Dubé. Words that were rather poorly received by medical specialists.
The Federation had retorted that the surgeons “are extremely mobilized”, but that the operating theaters of Greater Montreal operate on average at 70% of their capacity due to the shortage of personnel.
Learn more
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- 161 698
- Number of patients waiting for an operation in Quebec
source : MSSS
- 20 123
- Number of patients waiting for an operation for more than one year
source : Msss