Alta. contracting out additional eye surgeries to private facilities to reduce surgical backlog

Cataract surgery makes up the largest component of Alta.’s total surgical waitlist and the provincial government decided that about 25% more eye procedures will be done in private surgical facilities this year to reduce surgical backlogs. AHS finalized contracts to fund 35,000 eye surgeries a year, up from about 28,000. The province says funding private clinics to perform more surgeries will free up capacity and space in hospitals. It adds while the procedures will be done in private facilities, they're publicly funded.