As part of its four-year, $741-million diabetes strategy program, Ontario is boosting the number of annual bariatric surgeries – also known as gastric bypass surgery – to 2,085 a year by 2011-12.
This represents a seven-and-a-half-fold increase over the next three years, the provincial government said in a release Tuesday.
Some $12.6 million will go toward expanding the Humber River Regional Hospital to include five other Toronto sites, among other initiatives. The centres will involve a multi-disciplinary team of bariatric experts including a physician, nurse, dietitian, social worker and pharmacist and they will be able to refer patients to the appropriate treatment, whether it be surgery, psychiatric counselling or drug therapy.
"We’re pleased to become a part of the centre of excellence for bariatric surgery in Toronto. We know how important it is to have this highly specialized surgery available close to home for severely obese patients," said Dr. Richard Reznick, chair of the department of surgery at the University of Toronto. The university also will receive money to fund an additional 615 bariatric surgeries by 2011-12.
Some of the money will be used to establish the province’s first pediatric regional assessment and treatment centre at the Hospital for Sick Children to treat obesity and to prevent the need for some surgeries.
High levels of obesity are leading to a dramatic rise in illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and some cancers.
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