REDUCING SURGERY WAIT TIMES STILL A TOP PRIORITY

Reducing surgical wait times for patients continues to be a priority for the health system; however, recent data shows that progress is slowing.

The statistics for the period April 1 to September 30, 2012, show that 90 per cent of Saskatchewan surgical patients continue to receive surgery within six months. Of those, 79 per cent received surgery within three months.

"These results are a huge improvement from where we were five years ago, but the reality is the numbers are flattening," Health Minister Dustin Duncan said. For example, the number of people waiting more than six months for surgery was 10,634 in November 2007. That number steadily fell until reaching a low of 4,434 patients for the six months ending June 30, 2012 - a reduction of 58 per cent. The downward trend stalled this summer and our September 30 data shows the number of patients waiting more than six months increased slightly to 4,766 - still significantly down from 2007 - representing a 55 per cent reduction.

"We are hopeful that Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region's renewed focus on its surgical plan, as well as work in Saskatoon Health Region to make further inroads, will give us positive momentum toward this year's target of providing all surgeries within six months by March 2013. Using a patient first approach, surgical teams will work together to achieve more timely surgeries for patients."

Both Regina Qu'Appelle and Saskatoon Health Regions have developed mitigation plans to put more focus on reaching surgical wait time targets. On Tuesday, Regina Qu'Appelle announced new agreements with surgical facilities to provide additional publicly-funded surgeries to help address the backlog.

The province's five largest hospitals are in Saskatoon and Regina, and the two health regions provide three-quarters of the surgeries in Saskatchewan. On September 30, a total of 21,657 people were waiting for all surgeries, down 19 per cent from 26,739 in November 2007.

Some projects contributing to surgery improvements include:

• An online specialist directory to empower patients, in consultation with their primary health care provider, to make informed choices about referrals to specialists;
• 18-bed inpatient surgical ward added at St. Paul's Hospital (Saskatoon);
• Mobile MRI installed at Regina General Hospital;
• New patient-flow software introduced to help move patients through the health system better and faster; 
• Breast Health Centre expansion at Saskatoon City Hospital to allow faster, less invasive procedures for breast biopsies, and
• Regina Qu'Appelle and Saskatoon Health Regions contract with three private surgery providers to increase capacity.

Through the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative, specialists, operating room teams, health regions, health provider organizations and administrators are collaborating to improve safety and quality and ensure that by April 2014, all Saskatchewan patients can receive surgery within three months.

More information about the Surgical Initiative can be found at www.health.gov.sk.ca/surgical-initiative. Wait time data and other information for patients is available at www.sasksurgery.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Tyler McMurchy
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083