Waiting time for surgical operations doubles as a result of pandemic pile-up
Hospitals around the country say the Covid pandemic has created long waiting lists for hip replacement surgery and other surgical procedures that had to be postponed during the pandemic. Some hospitals say they have around 130 patients waiting for surgery and the waiting time has doubled since pre-pandemic times. Before Covid patients in line for hip replacement surgery waited for 12 months on average, now it is two years. Medical institutions are also trying to catch up on cancer screenings and other procedures which were repeatedly postponed during the pandemic.