The Canadian Institute for Health Information says fewer patients received hip and knee replacements between April and September of last year, within the recommended six months, compared to the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic, and this is despite an increase in the number of surgeries performed.

Sixty-six per cent were done across the country in that time period and in Saskatchewan, that lowers to 44 per cent. CIHI reports that cataract surgeries have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 70 per cent of patients treated within the benchmark time of 112 days. In Saskatchewan, 69 per cent.are having cataract surgery within that time period. Knee replacements have a ways to go across the country, with 59 per cent of patients receiving them within their benchmark and it’s 31 per cent in Saskatchewan.