MIDDLE SACKVILLE, NS – It is a sign of the changing age of our population. More and more people are in need of hip replacements. With the increasing volume of people requiring the surgery, the wait times for the operation increases as well.
Bill Buckley of Middle Sackville grunts as he struggles to push himself up from the kitchen table. He needs both his hips replaced and is faced with a long and grueling wait.
“It’s very painful,” says Buckley. “When I go to stand up I can only get up when these hips decide to let me up.”
Buckley’s left hip was bothering him for more than a year, and then last September he started experiencing pain in the right hip. His family doctor sent him to an orthopedic surgeon.
“He said you’re not going to have any value to life until you get this hip replacement because you’re in bad shape,” said Buckley. The doctor told him, “You’re walking like a chicken.”
Buckley was referred to a surgeon in New Glasgow. He waited 4 months for a consultation. He’s been informed he’s number 88 on the doctor’s waiting list and the doctor averages about ten replacements a month.
But with emergencies, vacations, and other factors, Buckley will likely wait at least another year. The 71-year-old has been using a cane the past 5 months and had to start using a walker the past month.
“If I ended up in a wheelchair my muscles aren’t going to be used at all in that area, and i’m concerned,” said Buckley.
Global News has talked to seven people waiting for hip replacement surgery. They’ve all told us they’ll be waiting roughly two years from the time they first saw their doctor, until the operation.
Buckley has heard the same, but a government spokesman says that’s not always the case.
“There are going to be individuals and surgeons in different communities that have shorter wait times,” said Dr. Peter Vaughan, the Deputy Minister of Nova Scotia Health and Wellness.
“They may just be down the road and right now people don’t know that, so we’re working to put that up on the web.”
Buckley has always been physically active, on the job and off, walking and going to the gym.
Now, unable to do much physically, Buckley has turned to his music for comfort. He was hoping to get bumped up because of his condition and late this afternoon he got a call from his doctor telling him his hip replacement operation is scheduled for June 12th.
Buckley will also have his left hip replaced at another time.
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