More cataract, hip and knee replacement surgeries completed in 2024 in N.S.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information says Nova Scotia is cutting wait times for some surgeries.

After dealing with pandemic backlogs, it appears Nova Scotia is now seeing improvements when it comes to surgical wait times.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) released data Thursday looking at 2024. Across Canada, the numbers showed there were still longer wait times overall for surgeries and diagnostic imaging compared with the pre-pandemic period.

Cataract surgery

However, Nova Scotia Health (NSH) highlighted a few areas where it has seen progress.

It said it leads the country when it comes to cataract surgery access with 83 per cent of patients receiving surgery within the 112-day target. That’s an improvement of 15 per cent over the previous year.

According to CIHI data, 67 per cent of people in New Brunswick received cataract surgery within that benchmark in 2024 – a slight improvement over 2023 – and 19 per cent on Prince Edward Island – a drop of two per cent. Nationally, 69 per cent of those needing cataract surgery got in within 112 days – a one per cent decline over 2023.

Hip and knee replacements

NSH also noted it ranked third in Canada for the percentage of patients receiving hip and knee joint replacements within the 182-day benchmark.

The data showed 64 per cent of patients had hip replacements within that timeframe, up from 53 per cent the year prior, while 57 per cent of patients had knee replacements during that time, up from 47 per cent.

New Brunswick and P.E.I. also saw improvements in these areas. In New Brunswick, 50 per cent of hip replacement patients received surgery within the benchmark – an increase of eight per cent. On P.E.I., 45 per cent of patients had surgery within the timeframe, up from 39 per cent the year prior.

Nationally, 68 per cent of patients had hip replacement surgery in a timely manner, which is a slight improvement over 2023.

As for knee replacements, the CIHI data showed 61 per cent of Canadians had surgery within 182 days. In New Brunswick, 45 per cent did, which is about a seven per cent improvement. On P.E.I., 28 per cent of knee replacement patients received surgery in that timeframe compared to 21 per cent in 2023.

Surgery by numbers

According to NSH, 57,304 patients had scheduled surgeries in 2024-25, up 13 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

It said as of April 1, the surgical waitlist was at a record 10-year low of 15,769. NSH said that’s a decrease of 33 per cent compared to the 23,644 on the waitlist at the start of the pandemic.

“These results are due to the hard work of our teams and important changes like our move to electronic referrals, more coordinated booking approaches, key partnerships with Halifax Vision and other investments and innovations,” said Cindy Connolly, senior director of Nova Scotia Health’s Perioperative (Surgical) Services Network, in a news release.

“Transforming access to care, from the time of referral to recovery, is helping us deliver more Nova Scotians the quality care they need sooner.”

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