By Elizabeth Payne
The long-promised move to creating standalone surgical facilities for orthopedic surgeries in Ontario has been promoted as a means of reducing wait times and taking pressure off hospitals. But critics note that many hospital operating rooms sit empty much of the time. With more funding, they could do more surgeries. Meanwhile, research from Alberta suggests a similar shift in provincial health dollars to private surgery operators has undermined the public health system, increased wait times for some key surgeries and increased health-care costs.