Where can I find out information about surgical waitlists?
The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) assigns an allotted amount of time to each surgeon.
Each surgeon then prioritizes their own waitlist according to client classification such as urgent, semi urgent or elective.
A client's waiting time for surgery is directly linked to their classification. Your surgeon's office can advise you of your classification.
It has been our experience that surgeons' offices are not able to give any sort of accurate estimate other than an approximation of months or years due to the fluidity of their waiting lists. Surgeons' offices have cancellation lists, which you can ask to have your name placed on.
Once a surgeon sees a patient, their office submits a booking request to the VIHA. Some are submitted with no date and some have the surgery date written on them. The majority of elective bookings come in without a date. Surgeons' offices keep their own lists and do all their prioritizing.
If you experience a decline in health status since you initially saw a surgeon, it is important to let your family doctor know of any changes so this can be communicated to the surgeon as it may change your classification.
Increasing levels of pain should be brought to the attention of your family doctor so this can be addressed. It may be of value to ask your family doctor whether a referral to the pain clinic would be of value.
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