Released on November 21, 2013
As the March 2014 end date for the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative nears, surgical teams are making a final push to provide sooner, safer, smarter surgical care for patients.
The latest provincial wait times numbers show that, as of September 30, 2013, 80 per cent of patients received their surgery within three months and 92 per cent received it within six months.
“Our province’s health care providers have made incredible progress toward our goal of offering surgery within three months,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan said. “This initiative is making a real difference in the lives of patients waiting for surgery.”
There were 9,524 fewer patients waiting more than three months for surgery on September 30, 2013 than in March 2010 when the Surgical Initiative was launched, a 62 per cent drop from 15,345 patients to 5,821.
In the first half of this fiscal year, patients have received 42,807 surgeries, up 3,170 from the same period last year.
Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region has had 12 straight months of improved surgical wait times, showing a 39 per cent drop in the number of people waiting more than three months – down from 5,692 on September 1, 2012 to 3,457 on September 30, 2013.
After recently losing some ground on surgical wait times, Saskatoon Health Region made a modest improvement, with the number of people waiting more than three months for surgery down from 2,082 people last month to 2,035 people on September 30. The health region is implementing contingency plans so it can meet increased demand while chipping away at the size of its surgical wait list.
Information about the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative is available at www.sasksurgery.ca. The website also features the Specialist Directory, which empowers patients and their primary care providers to compare options for surgical care.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Tyler McMurchy
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: tyler.mcmurchy@health.gov.sk.ca