‘We’re going to bend the curve for those who desperately need surgery,’ B.C. health minister says

The resumption of surgeries in B.C. is going to “challenge every single person in health care,” B.C.’s health minister said today.

With the "new normal" rolling out in the days ahead, "tens of thousands of surgeries" that were cancelled are going to start happening again and Health Minister Adrian Dix said it’s going to be challenging.

“This is a group that we think about every day,” Dix said today, April 30, during the daily COVID-19 press conference.

It’s an unprecedented event in health care and those involved, he said, are taking care to do it right.

“We've bent the curve on COVID-19, and we're going to bend the curve for those who desperately need surgery, as well,” Dix said.

“It's going to challenge every single one of us in healthcare, and it will take resources. We know this, but the thousands of people who need their surgeries are counting on us to deliver.”

Dix said that the resumption of surgery will push health care workers as hard as COVID-19 did and said that Dr. Bonnie Henry’s continual reminder that it’s “now, not forever,” should be kept in mind going forward.

“What they need from us here, but also all of us, is that we stay, 100 per cent all in to stop the transmission,” Dix said.

Keeping  COVID-19 numbers manageable is key to ensuring surgery renewal can proceed with full force.

“That's what we need to do for those that we love,” he said.

The province moved on March 18 to cancel about 11,000 scheduled surgeries to free up beds in the province’s hospitals so, if COVID-19 hit in full force, the needed health care resources would be available.

Since that time some schedules have gone on in both public and private hospitals.

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