Surgical wait times in Saskatchewan are down considerably since 2007, but in recent years there has been a slight uptick. 

In 2007 about 60 percent of residents in Saskatchewan who were waiting for surgical procedures were receiving their procedure in six months or less. Through a variety of initiatives and programs, that number climbed to about 98 percent. Over the past couple of years, however, that number has slipped to about 91 percent of procedures that are provided within six months. 

Everett Hindley, the MLA for Swift Current, said that they made a commitment to improving surgical wait times in the final days of October. 

"It's a ten-million-dollar investment to perform another 1,700 surgeries between now and the end of March. We are taking action on this fairly quickly. This is something that the Ministry of Health and Minister Jim Rieter and the Rural and Remote Health Minister Warren Kading have identified, and they've realized it's something that we have to tackle." 

To meet 2020, target the Saskatchewan Health Authority will be increasing surgical hours in hospitals. They will also be looking to increase contract volumes with some third-party facilities. 

"We have the operating rooms, we have the equipment, but they don't run 24/7," Hindley said. "The Saskatchewan Health Authority will determine based on funding how many operations hours they have. It is simply about increasing the number of operating room hours at our hospitals in Saskatchewan and therefore allowing us to increase some of the surgeries. It's things like cataracts, hip and knee replacements, it's gynecological surgeries, dental in some cases, ear, nose, and throat surgeries, and there is a little bit of stuff that is related to heart surgeries as well." 

Hindley said that though they are happy with the around 91 percent number, they want to keep improving the number the best they can. 

"When it comes to healthcare, you always want to be able to deliver it in a timely fashion. It's important for us to set goals. I think we are always trying to do better. We are happy with where it is now, but there is always room for improvement. In a perfect world, you'd be able to get surgery the next day, but realistically that's not always possible. We always want to provide healthcare to folks on a timely basis so they can get the care they deserve." 

Hindley said the only reason they are able to make the investment is because of the increase of surgeons in the province. 

"We've seen an increase in the number of surgeons, and we've seen an increase in the number of doctors, the number of nurses that have been hired over the past ten to 12 years. That also translates into specialists as well," he said. "I think even locally here in Swift Current, we had in an investment where we had some additional doctors. That took effect earlier this past spring and summer, and that's had an impact. It was the case where we didn't have any doctors not too long ago that were accepting new patients because their caseload was full." 

He added that the wait times are a good challenge, as it means the province is growing.