REGINA – Saskatchewan has gone from ‘zero’ to ‘hero’ on the national stage when it comes to reducing surgical wait times.
A new report by the Fraser Institute, Learning from the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative to Improve Wait Times in Canada is authored by former NDP finance minister, Janice MacKinnon.
The report dissects the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative (SSI) implemented in 2010 and credits the government’s success to its “patient-centered focus”.
READ MORE: Saskatchewan leads country with shortest surgical wait times
Since implementation, wait times for surgeries have gone from highest to lowest in the country, a decline of 75 per cent.
The success has prompted curious calls from across the country.
“I’ve had colleagues at federal, provincial meetings that we have that have asked what we did here in Saskatchewan to turn our numbers around,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan said.
“There’s been a lot of interest from my colleagues.”
But recently the numbers aren’t as favourable.
In the past year, wait times in Regina and Saskatoon have increased. Now, one in ten patients are waiting longer than the three month cutoff.
“The numbers are showing what they’re showing. They’re showing that things aren’t working and that surgical wait times are increasing again,” NDP MLA Nicole Sarauer said.
Duncan is well aware of the increases but said the surgical strategy is well positioned to deal with spikes in demand.
Canada has some of the longest surgical wait times when compared to similarly prosperous countries. The Fraser Institute says this is due to the unchanging structure and funding of our Medicare system.
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