New Regina Hip and Knee Centre Improves Access to Care

Released on October 23, 2014

A completely redesigned Regina clinic that offers earlier access to assessment, followed by the most appropriate care, will better meet the needs of patients who may be candidates for hip or knee replacement surgery.

The new Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region (RQHR) Hip and Knee Treatment and Research Centre is designed to ensure that patients and families are key partners in decisions related to their care.  Patients are referred by their primary care provider and are seen by members of a multi-disciplinary team that includes RQHR orthopedic surgeons, nurses, physical and occupational therapists and therapist assistants. 

“Saskatchewan patients are receiving hip or knee replacements much sooner, and with better support in recent years,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan said.  “This innovative centre builds on that success.”

The clinic will be a centre of excellence for the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis, with orthopedic specialists on site as part of the team.  Patients who need to see a specialist will be referred to the next available surgeon, though they can choose to be seen by a specific surgeon when that specialist is available.

“An important component of this centre is our ability to gather research while we work in partnership with osteoarthritis patients,” Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Vice President of Physician and Integrated Health Services Dr. David McCutcheon said.  “Our team will monitor patient results following treatment.  This valuable research will help refine the healthcare community’s understanding of the most appropriate treatment, based on analysis of the outcomes for patients with specific medical conditions.”  

Allen Duchscher recently had full knee replacements to both the right and left knees.  One of his surgeries took place prior to the centre's redesign and the second took place after.

“Since my initial surgery I have experienced a drastic improvement to the entire process,” Duchscher said. “The amount of time I had to wait from my assessment to the surgery date was greatly reduced, from one year down to one month.  I had a much better experience with the second surgery due to the improvements, and am physically doing much better as well.”

Once all the specialists complete the transition to the new centre, all hip and knee joint-replacement assessments in the health region will be handled by the centre. The health region expects about 2,200 referrals to the centre over a 12-month period, totalling about 9,000 patient visits.
 
Consultations with orthopedic specialists now take place at the centre, so patients don’t have to travel to appointments in several locations.  Patients will also receive post-operative outpatient therapy services at the new centre rather than in hospital.

The centre opened in September at the Surgical Assessment Centre, 1621 Albert Street.  Orthopedic surgeons began seeing patients at the centre over the following weeks.  Annual Hip and Knee Pathway funding to the health region is about $790,000.

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For more information, contact:

Tyler McMurchy
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: tmcmurchy@health.gov.sk.ca

Lisa Thomson
Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region
Phone: 306-766-5332
Email: lisa.thomson@rqhealth.ca