Ontario invests $125M in 4 private surgical clinics

TORONTO – The province of Ontario is investing $125 million to reduce knee and hip replacement surgery wait times by licensing and funding four new private orthopedic surgery clinics. The new clinics will be in Toronto, Richmond Hill, Ottawa and Windsor.

The province will spend $125 million over two years on the new community surgical and diagnostic centres, which it said will support up to 20,000 additional publicly funded orthopedic surgeries in Ontario.

This increased surgical capacity will allow 90 percent of Ontario patients to receive orthopedic care within clinically recommended time frames, up from the current 80 percent, the government said.

“Our government is leading the country with continued investments that have resulted in the shortest surgical wait times of any province, as we continue taking bold action to help more Ontarians live fuller, more active lives,” said Sylvia Jones (pictured), deputy premier and minister of health, in a news release.

“By expanding orthopedic surgery capacity across Ontario, we are redoubling our efforts to reduce wait times and get more people access to life-changing procedures sooner, helping them regain mobility, reduce pain and return to the activities they love.”

The province said it will begin issuing the four new licenses in early 2026.

The four new licensed orthopedic surgery clinics are:

• OV Surgical Centre — Toronto
• Schroeder Ambulatory Centre — Richmond Hill
• Academic Orthopedic Surgical Associates of Ottawa
• Windsor Orthopedic Surgical Centre

The province said all community surgical and diagnostic centres fall under Accreditation Canada’s oversight.

Accreditation Canada has a quality-assurance program for private clinics that applies many of the same requirements that apply to public hospitals, the province said.

Previously, the province announced spending $155 million on 57 new community surgical and diagnostic centres to connect more than 1.2 million people to MRI scans, CT scans and gastrointestinal endoscopy services.

The province also announced spending $235 million to expand and create more than 130 primary care teams, which is expected to connect 300,000 more patients to care services this year.

“No centre can refuse an insured service to a patient who chooses not to purchase uninsured upgrades, and no patient can pay to receive insured services faster than anyone else,” the release adds.