this story was run a couple of days ago on the cbc, and it’s been getting a lot of coverage ever since:
Ontario will spend $75 million over the next three years to increase access to bariatric surgery, also known as gastric bypass surgery, the province’s health minister announced Monday.
The funding aims to increase the number of surgeries from 244 last year to 1,470 a year by 2011/2012.
“High levels of obesity are leading to dramatic rises in serious chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and some cancers,” said David Caplan, minister of Health and Long-Term Care.
“Bariatric surgery will help offset the costs of treating these obesity-related conditions, while reducing ER visits and hospitalizations.”
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences will form the hub of the centre, which also includes Humber River Regional Hospital, Guelph General Hospital and the Ottawa Hospital.
The expansion means about $10,000 will be saved for every patient who does not have to be sent to the United States for the operation as part of Ontario’s Out of Country Program, the ministry said.
i think it’s great that ontario is finally investing money in creating local programs instead of sending ontarians over to the states to have surgery. it makes much more sense to spend money on training doctors and setting up clinics. if surgery in ontario had been a better option for me, (3-5 year wait list) i would have definitely opted to stay in province. luckily i found a wonderful surgeon and hospital not too far away from home.
if you click on the link, the comments readers are making are both interesting and frustrating. it’s obvious how little people understand obesity surgery or just being an obese person in general.
