Thousands of elective procedures have been delayed in Ontario, Canada, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and an estimated 35 people have died because cardiac surgeries were postponed.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott announced on Tuesday that around 35 people have died thus far because their surgeries were delayed over coronavirus concerns, according to researchers associated with the United Health Network in Toronto.
Hospital beds in Ontario are relatively empty, a local watchdog group noted, with the Canadian province having delayed 52,700 surgeries since March 15 and postponing an additional 12,000 elective surgeries a week.
“A report has been released today by [University Health Network] with respect to cardiac deaths and it has been estimated that approximately 35 people may have passed away because their surgeries were not performed,” Elliott said.
“Any death that happened because of COVID-19 — whether directly or indirectly — is a tragedy,” she continued. “We feel for those families who’ve lost family members — whether it has been from cancer death, cardiac death or a COVID-19 death. But these were decisions that we had to make. The decisions were made by medical personnel.
“That’s not something any of us want to hear. It certainly was not intended,” she added. “Any death is a tragedy.”
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario reported on hospital capacity last week after the province moved to delay surgeries and made space in 585 critical care spaces for coronavirus patients.
“Elective procedures are often not optional. Rather, elective procedures are not immediately required or, in the judgment of the health professional, riskier to conduct during a crisis than after the crisis,” the FAO report said. “These surgeries include some cancer-related procedures, operations to address blood vessel problems, some cardiac procedures, gall bladder and hernia operations, hip replacements and cataract surgery and cosmetic surgeries.”
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said some surgeries are still happening if a doctor reclassifies an elective procedure as an emergency, according to the Toronto Sun.
