REGINA — Saskatchewan's surgical system achieved the highest volumes ever recorded in the first six months of the fiscal year from April 1 to Sept. 30, according to the Ministry of Health.
As of Sept. 30, 47,748 procedures have been performed, which is an increase of 4,487 procedures or 10.4 per cent increase over September 2022.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is responsible for delivering surgical services to meet the needs of Saskatchewan people.
"I'd like to thank the many dedicated health care providers and physicians who continue to help us improve access to surgical care," Provincial Department Head of Surgery Dr. Mike Kelly said.
"As we build on this achievement, we aim to redesign the way surgical care is delivered in this province ensuring high-quality surgical care is accessible to the people of Saskatchewan."
Additional allocations to publicly funded and privately delivered surgical services has allowed a further expansion of provincial capacity, a press release states. Approximately 19 per cent of all surgeries performed since the COVID-19 pandemic have taken place in private surgical centres.
Further expansion of resources will be possible through the work of the Government of Saskatchewan's Health Human Resources (HHR) Action Plan. Ensuring key staffing complements on surgical teams by improving recruitment and retention of nurses and many associated professionals will allow the SHA to reach aggressive surgical targets.
"Our goal is to continue to work on system improvements along with recruitment as we transform how we're delivering services province-wide to better provide safe, timely and appropriate surgical care to patients," Provincial Surgical Services Executive Director Cindy Graham said.
Surgical targets are in place to surpass last year's highest surgical volume of over 90,000, ensure 90 per cent of surgeries are performed within 10 months and that no patients are on the waitlist longer than 18 months.
