Sask. surgical wait times improve, but number of people on waitlist grows

Katie Swyers · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 7:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

The fig of radical successful Saskatchewan waiting longer than 2 years for country has been "nearly eliminated," according to Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill, but the waitlist for surgeries has increased.

The state has been focusing connected long-waiting patients, Cockrill said, with the fig of radical waiting implicit 1 twelvemonth for country besides down implicit 24 per cent. 

The authorities released numbers for surgical hold times betwixt April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, connected Wednesday. They showed that 92 per cent of radical received country successful nether 8 months during that period. 

The people was 90 per cent, Cockrill said.

"We exceeded that goal." 

Cockrill attributed the advancement to caller spending connected the health-care system. In March, Saskatchewan committed $15.1 cardinal successful its 2025-2026 fund to helping trim hold times for patients.

The state has antecedently struggled with agelong surgical hold times, particularly for genu and hep replacement surgeries. Saskatchewan had the longest hold times successful Canada for those procedures successful 2023.

Province performs grounds fig of surgeries 

The state said it performed much than 100,000 surgeries successful a fiscal twelvemonth for the archetypal time, but a alteration successful however they are counted contributed to that increase.

"This year's surgical reporting includes procedures performed extracurricular of accepted operating rooms," Cockrill said, adding that procedures done successful specialized attraction spaces similar cardiac cath laboratories and interventional radiology suites are present counted arsenic surgery, dissimilar successful erstwhile years.

The state made the change after the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), a nationalist not-for-profit wellness organization, started counting those types of procedures arsenic surgery, Cockrill said.   

"Including these types of procedures successful our number gives a much close representation of the afloat scope of surgical attraction provided crossed the province," helium said.

In a statement Wednesday, the Opposition NDP highlighted the alteration successful however procedures are counted.

"We're not amazed that the figures are inflated," the NDP connection said. 

Total fig of radical connected hold database higher than past year

The Opposition besides pointed to the information that the fig of radical waiting for country has accrued successful the province.

While surgical hold times successful Saskatchewan are improving and the authorities is achieving its targets, 30,308 radical are inactive waiting for country successful the state arsenic of March.

According to the government, Saskatchewan's hold database has accrued by "about 2,236 cases since March 31, 2024."

"Today is astir progress, but it's besides astir perspective. We proceed successful the surgical programme to spot the impacts of the pandemic slowdowns, which dramatically accrued surgical hold times and hold lists," said Dr. Michael Kelly, the Saskatchewan Health Authority's provincial caput of surgery.