A Regional Surgical Partnership Program: Lessons Learned in System Transformation of Pediatric Surgical Care

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Significant growth in pediatric surgery and endoscopy waitlists in Ontario.
• Resource constraints, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, led to over 6,500 patients on a Toronto tertiary hospital's surgical waitlist.
• 65% of patients exceeded validated wait time targets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address long pediatric surgical waitlists in Ontario.
• To decentralize pediatric surgical care through a regional partnership program.
• To reduce wait times by transferring low-acuity cases to community hospitals.

Main Methods:

• Developed a regional Surgical and Endoscopy Community Partnerships program with five partner hospitals.
• Transferred select low-acuity pediatric surgical cases from a tertiary hospital to partner sites.
• Focused on patients with the longest wait times.

Main Results:

• Transitioned over 650 pediatric cases between April 2023 and March 2024.
• Reduced the overall waitlist by approximately 10%.
• Partner hospitals possessed existing infrastructure and staffing for referred patients.

Conclusions:

• The regional partnership program successfully reduced pediatric surgical waitlists.
• An integrated, system-wide approach is a viable model for pediatric surgical care delivery.
• Decentralizing care can improve access and efficiency.