Province says 92% of surgeries in the last year met wait-time goal

Anyone waiting for a surgery in Saskatchewan likely won’t need to look any further than the next eight months.

That’s based on data released by the provincial government, which found nearly 92 per cent of surgeries were completed within an eight-month time frame.

Other findings included the near-elimination of patients waiting more than two years for an operation and a 24 per cent decrease of those waiting more than a year.

“To get that list of people waiting longer than 24 months down to just a few handfuls of people, that is fantastic progress,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said.

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Cockrill also pointed out that 100,000 surgeries were conducted between April 2024 to May 2025.

But, included within that figure for the first time are procedures that until now did not qualify in previous reporting, like surgeries performed outside of traditional operating rooms.

Cockrill said it’s to ensure Saskatchewan can do a direct comparison of its surgical data to other provinces, like Alberta and Manitoba.

But, because of this expanded scope, University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) provincial head of surgery, Michael Kelly, said the focus should be on wait times.

“If you use the old criteria, the number is about the same. The important thing with the number being the same is that wait times are decreasing, so that the amount of time people are waiting for surgery is going down,” said Kelly.

Recruiting surgeons from the United States

These shortened wait lists are thanks to efficiencies in scheduling, pooled referrals, and aggressive recruitment strategies.

“We recognize that recruitment remains a key challenge, and are actively investing in workforce development and physician recruitment in priority areas such as anesthesiology and emergency medicine,” Cockrill said.

He spoke about campaigns run through the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency, saying more American doctors are starting to show interest in Saskatchewan.

Having people actually move, though, requires telling a story of what Saskatchewan has to offer.

“[We’re] making sure that graduates from all across the country, in the United States as well, understand that those opportunities exist and that, again, Saskatchewan is competitive from a compensation perspective,” Cockrill said.

While Cockrill acknowledged it takes time for these campaigns to become effective, they might be showing signs of gradual success.

According to Kelly, 25 surgeons were hired across Saskatchewan in 2024.

Further investments

Even with the new hires, Cockrill estimates there are roughly 30,000 people on Saskatchewan’s surgical wait list.

He did specify, though, that a bulk of them are patients waiting for smaller scale procedures, like cataract surgery.

Even so, Cockrill said making wait times reasonable for people is the priority, highlighting that part of the government’s 2025-26 Provincial Budget is investing an extra $15.1 million into surgical services.

The new target is to lower wait times from eight to six months, a goal which Cockrill thinks they’re well-positioned to achieve.