Pediatric Surgical Outreach: An Underutilized Resource for Increasing Children's Surgical Capacity in Canada
Topic overview
National survey of Canadian children's hospitals reveals only 44% offer pediatric surgical outreach services despite unprecedented wait times. Expanding community-based surgical services could improve access for geographically remote children while addressing capacity constraints at tertiary centers.
Key takeaways
- Only 44% of Canadian children's hospitals offer pediatric surgical outreach services despite unprecedented wait times.
- Outreach services include inpatient coverage (2 sites), outpatient surgery (6 sites), and ambulatory clinics (19 sites) across 7 provinces.
- Median distance for outreach surgical sites is 69 km; for clinics, 18 km from the home children's hospital.
- Outreach programs are underutilized as a capacity-building strategy to reduce wait times and improve access for remote populations.
- Expanding pediatric surgical outreach could provide patient-centered alternatives to hospital-based care for geographically isolated children.
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