Health ministry says Sask. saw highest-ever surgical volume in 2023-24
Saskatchewan set a surgical record recently, the Ministry of Health says, with more than 95,700 procedures performed over 12 months.
According to the ministry, the record for the highest number of surgeries in a 12-month period was set between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, surpassing a similar record set last year by nearly 6,000 surgeries.
During a news conference at the University of Saskatchewan, Health Minister Everett Hindley said the number of joint replacement procedures performed this year is actually 50 per cent higher than the pre-COVID annual volumes in 2019 and in 2020.
“Volumes for hip and knee replacement surgeries have increased significantly over the previous year, with nearly 800 more procedures,” he said. Hindley did acknowledge that at its peak, there were nearly 36,000 patients in the province waiting for surgery- but there have been targets set to get the numbers closer to pre- pandemic levels.