It's been a hard fought battle as the province has worked towards reducing wait times when it comes to surgeries and medical care in Saskatchewan but progress is being made.
In 2011 the province has announced it is providing more than $40 million in additional funding for the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative so that more patients receive surgery sooner. Health regions, including the Sunrise, will use the funding to accelerate increases in surgical capacity and make longer term plans for diagnostic and surgical services.
With partners like The Health Foundation which works throughout the year to ensure all the funding possible comes our way, this is good news for residents.
It's anticipated new funding will enable health regions to complete an additional 5,550 surgeries next year - an increase of almost eight per cent. Saskatoon Health Region will provide approximately 1,750 more surgeries, Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region approximately 1,700, and other health regions combined will account for the remaining 2,100 additional procedures. By the end of 2011-12, the goal is to reduce all surgical wait times to less than 12 months.
By 2014, no surgical patient in Saskatchewan should have to wait more than three months for surgery. Ask anyone who currently finds themselves on the still lengthy wait list and this is welcome news - provided it happens.
"We know the work we are doing takes time," says Health Minister Don McMorris. "but we are seeing a big difference."
Since 2007, the number of patients waiting longer than 12 months for surgery has dropped 27 per cent and the number waiting more than 18 months has dropped 51 per cent.
We're headed in the right direction, let's keep the funding and the efforts coming to get on track.
