Orthopaedic surgical leads Dr. Paul Wong (Michael Garron Hospital) and Dr. Markku Nousiainen (Sunnybrook) gather outside Sunnybrook's Holland Centre. The site is the centre of their collaboration to tackle orthopaedic surgical backlogs.
Two Toronto hospitals have come together to expand upon an evidence-based model for hip and knee arthroplasty surgery in order to reduce wait times for patients, while continuing to prioritize patient choice.
As of April 1st, 2023, Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Sunnybrook) – with the support of Ontario Health – have partnered to launch the Toronto Regional Arthroplasty Collaborative (TRAC), and are open to welcoming other hospital partners.
TRAC will improve access to orthopaedic surgery for patients by leveraging an existing central intake model and expanding operating room (OR) capacity on weekends.
“By expanding capacity on weekends at Sunnybrook's Holland Centre, clinical teams from TRAC partnering hospitals will join forces to provide a streamlined flow of patient care."
“Our teams are eager to reduce wait times for patients across the city, and provide a new model of care that can be scaled up for a broad range of procedures and geographic areas."
– Ru Taggar, co-chair, TRAC executive committee
“This collaboration is expected to create an additional 1,335 surgical cases this year to reduce the current hip and knee backlog by 25 per cent in the Toronto Region by March 31, 2024," says Ru Taggar, co-Chair of the TRAC Executive Committee and Executive Vice President and Chief, Nursing and Health Professions Executive at Sunnybrook. “Together, we plan to demonstrate how a creative solution to surgical backlogs can be implemented, and based on solid evidence-based results."
TRAC will receive patient referrals from across the GTA, and procedures will be performed at Sunnybrook's Holland Orthopaedic & Arthritic Centre (Holland Centre) campus; a stand-alone hospital surgical site that has been dedicated to orthopaedic surgery and care for almost six decades at its current location. As an established Centre of Excellence for hip and knee arthroplasty surgery, the Holland Centre is a North American leader in bone and joint care, education and research.
Starting April 1st, the Holland Centre expanded its Operating Room (OR) capacities to weekends, providing pre-scheduled access to orthopaedic surgeons from MGH.
“In addition to increasing the numbers of hip and knee arthroplasties performed, this model will also free up OR resources at MGH for other important surgeries," says Dr. Carmine Simone, executive member of TRAC and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Michael Garron Hospital.
Patients will still have the option to go the traditional route and choose a specific hospital or a specific surgeon for their care, or they can request the first available surgeon through TRAC.
“Our patients who choose to go through TRAC's partnership will also receive the full spectrum of orthopaedic care – from assessment to surgery, through to recovery," adds Dr. Simone. “Either way, our patients will receive the high-quality care they expect and we will work together to make the experience as seamless as possible."
The collaborative will include robust performance measurement and selection process to ensure the teams are tackling the wait list and that patients who are most in need of care receive it as soon as possible.
At the time of writing, over 4,200 patients in the Toronto region are waiting for a total hip or knee joint; with 21 per cent of these patients considered “long waiters". (iPort access by CCO Health, February 2023)
Visit ReduceMyHipandKneeWait.ca for more information about TRAC, how it works, how to be referred, and expected benefits for patients, primary care practitioners, surgeons and the healthcare system.