Province boasts improved surgery wait times

The province is touting improved wait times for surgery.

According to a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, 90 per cent of patients in Saskatchewan were offered surgery within three months of booking between December 2014 and February 2015.

The report, released Tuesday, showed surgical wait times in the province are among the shortest in the country.

Health Minister Dustin Duncan credited the success to a surgical initiative launched four years ago.

“Since the launch of the four-year Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative in April 2010, we have made tremendous improvement in patients’ access to surgery,” Duncan said in a media release.

“Close to 10,000 more surgeries were performed last year, compared to five years ago, and the number of patients waiting more than three months for surgery has dropped by 87 per cent over the past five years.”

Saskatchewan boasts the best wait times for bypass, bladder cancer and lung cancer surgery, the second best wait times for hip and knee replacement surgery, and the third best wait times for cataract, breast cancer and colorectal cancer surgery compared to other provinces.