The waiting time for surgeries in the CCSS has increased significantly, on average, 105 days, due to covid-19. Pandemic related cases have taken priority. While emergency, trauma, and cancer surgeries continue, 36,000 other surgeries have been put on hold. From March to August, 24,288 surgeries were performed. In normal periods, this figure would have been 61,120.
Additionally, 1.6 million appointments with specialists and 70,000 diagnostic tests have been cancelled, between March and August.
In February, before the pandemic, the average wait time for surgery was 393 days. Now it is 498 days. The average wait for an initial appointment with a specialist went from 148 days in February to 166 days in August. The wait for a diagnostic procedure, such as an ultrasound or CT scan, went from 117 days to 136.
1.4 million appointments were handled virtually. Those who must go to the hospital are made to wash their hands before entering, use face masks, and keep distance from others on lines and in waiting rooms.
The CCSS hired 4,023 workers, especially intensive care nurses and respiratory therapists. The CCSS has a fund in place to reschedule surgeries in 2021 that were cancelled in 2020.
