“Outside of being born in the hospital, I haven’t had to go to the hospital or use the health care system, which I’m grateful for,” said Walsh. “But when I need treatment, I can’t get it. It’s frustrating.”

Through insurance coverage, he’s been able to access regular physiotherapy, active release therapy and massage therapy, but the pain is quickly taking over his life.

In August, he took his grandchild to Canada’s Wonderland and had no problem walking around all day. Now, half a year later, the pain is so bad he can’t lift his leg into his car without using his arms. If he rolls over onto his bad hip when sleeping, he’s jolted awake.

A lifelong hockey player and runner, he can no longer be active. He’s also had to give up one of his two part-time jobs, which involved standing and lifting.

“Whenever I see (the Minister of Health) Dr. Eric Hoskins on TV talking about how great the health care system is, I want to gnaw through an iron bar,” Walsh said.

Waterloo NDP MPP Catherine Fife said misleading wait time data has negative repercussions across the system. For example, it’s impossible to know how much money surgical wait times are really costing the province in terms of patients’ lost productivity and related health issues.

“If this government had true wait times and had been tracking data appropriately and sharing it, they would face overwhelming pressure to respond to it,” Fife said. “There needs to be a strategy in place that addresses wait times in a reasonable manner. Nobody should have to leave their community to get major surgeries just to be able to work.”

The Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network hospitals, including Grand River, are reviewing open hip and knee replacement waitlists to remove duplicate cases, close entries no longer required and document patient-related delays, said ministry spokesperson David Jensen.

“Cleaning up these waitlists through this audit will help to identify a more accurate picture of demand for hip and knee replacement surgery,” Jensen said.

Over 13 years, the ministry has invested about $2 billion to reduce wait times for surgeries like hip and knee replacements and cancer, cardiac and cataract surgeries.

“The government has also committed to bringing down wait times for specialists by improving the referral process, better coordinating care, improving access to the right providers and making capital investments where appropriate,” Jensen said.

Waterloo Wellington LHIN is expecting to perform additional hip and knee surgeries this year and next to “meet patient need and wait time obligations,” he added.

Both Holmes and Walsh haven’t seen the results of these efforts and are concerned the long wait times will result in them needing more surgeries in the future.

For Walsh, the pain has begun to shoot from his left hip down his leg into his knee. He also overuses his right hip and is starting to feel sore there too.

After years of overcompensating for the pain in her right knee, Holmes has started to feel similar sensations in her “good” left knee, which is now being considered for surgery.

Fife said the government needs to spend less money on bureaucracy and privatization of health care and more money on hospital staff, equipment and operating costs.

“The premier hasn’t woken up to the health care crisis,” she said. “They (Holmes and Walsh) know it’s happening, I know it’s happening, but the premier clearly does not.”

The auditor general’s report said of the hospitals surveyed, most had nine to 12 operating rooms, but kept only one open on weekends and statutory holidays for emergency surgeries. Most hospitals also planned operating-room closures for March Break and for two to 10 weeks during the summer.

Some of the reasons why operating rooms aren’t being fully utilized, despite long elective surgery wait times, include rigid scheduling practices and funding uncertainties.

The ministry funds hospitals using “a patient-centred, evidence-informed model that reflects local population needs and strengthens the link between high-quality care and fiscal sustainability,” said Jensen.

Hospitals, including Grand River, are responsible for planning how they’ll provide services evenly throughout and can redistribute funds between programs.

“Doing so ensures hospitals provide patients appropriate access to services regardless of when their surgery is scheduled for during the year,” Jensen said.