A new report shows Manitobans are waiting longer for joint replacement and cataract surgeries than people in most other provinces.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) report, released Thursday, said wait times for the surgeries are increasing across the country, but especially in Manitoba.
The province’s Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Kelvin Goertzen said the results reinforce what Manitoba’s government already knew – that the health system is in need of change.
“Manitoba has maintained consistent wait times for radiation therapy, significantly increased the number of CT scans performed in the province, reduced wait times for coronary artery bypass grafts and achieved the best results in the country for hip fracture repair, with patients being treated within 48 hours,” Minister Goertzen said in a statement.
“Regarding hip and knee replacements, the Canadian Institute for Health Information report validates the work we have already done with the Wait Times Reduction Task Force report, which recommended a number of changes necessary to improve access for Manitobans.”
Joint replacement
The recommended wait time for undergoing hip replacement surgery is six months. Fifty-three percent of Manitobans needing this surgery got it done within the average time in 2017. That’s down 16 percentage points from 2015, when 69 per cent of Manitobans had it done in the recommended time.
Manitoba’s percentage is the third lowest in the country. Fifty per cent of patients in Nova Scotia got hip replacements done in the recommended time, which was the lowest, while the highest percentage of patients who had the surgery done in time were in Newfoundland and Labrador (84 per cent).
When it came to knee replacement surgery, 43 per cent of Manitobans got it done in the six-month recommended wait time, down 21 percentage points from 2015, when 64 per cent of patients got their surgery within the recommended period.
Manitoba’s total was the second lowest in the country. Nova Scotia was the lowest at 34 per cent and Quebec the highest at 80 per cent.
Related: How long Manitobans are waiting for surgery compared to rest of country
Cataract surgery
The recommended wait time for cataract surgery is 16 weeks. In Manitoba, 32 per cent of patients were getting the surgery done in time in 2017, compared to 41 per cent in 2015.
The total was the lowest in Canada, with Alberta the next lowest at 56 per cent, and Newfoundland and Labrador’s total of 87 per cent the highest.
Related: ER closures at Seven Oaks & Concordia will be staggered: report
Across Canada
While the totals are down in Manitoba, they have dropped across the country. On average, 76 per cent of patients in Canada received a hip replacement within the recommended time in 2017, down five percentage points from 2015.
For knee replacements, 69 per cent of Canadians got the surgery done in time, down eight percentage points from 2015.
And for cataract surgery, the number of Canadians getting it done in time was at 71 per cent, down five percentage points from 2015.
The report cites two factors for these increases: the need for surgery and the number of surgeries performed, which is due to Canada’s aging.
To view more, you can see the report here.