In Saskatchewan, there were more surgeries performed in the first nine months of the fiscal year than ever before, hitting 71,850 procedures performed to the end of December, an increase of 6,000 from the same time period the year previous.

Health Minister Everett Hindley cites that the aggressive surgical target for the end of the fiscal year is to have over 90,000 surgeries done and to ensure 90 per cent are performed within ten months of seeing a specialist and wait lists not being longer than 18 months. He notes that the number of patients on the surgery list for over a year has gone down by 13 per cent from March of 2010 to December of 2023.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Provincial Surgical Services Executive Director, Cindy Graham, says the number of people waiting has decreased by 15 per cent, “and we have seen considerable improvements in the number of people waiting in particular for knee and hip replacements, Ear, Nose and Throat and general surgery.” Head of Surgery, Dr. Michael Kelly, notes that the wait times are from meeting with a specialist to having the surgery. It doesn’t include the wait from your health care provider to the specialist appointment. However, he stresses the entire patient journey needs to be considered and says the SHA is working on a way to collect that data, with the hope of a better idea on those numbers expected in the next fiscal year.

Head of Anaesthesiology, Dr. Mateen Raazi says staffing is the largest challenge, but it’s not the only one when it comes to shorter wait lists and more surgeries. He notes that having the capacity to do those surgeries is also a challenge, because beds are needed for those who need care after the surgery.