Camera courtesy of Voth's Countrywide Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1

Surgical wait times are on the way down, according to the provincial government.

Health Minister Don McMorris says the number of patients waiting more than 18 months for surgery dropped by 39% between March 2008 and March 2010, and those waiting more than 12 months decreased by 22% in that same stretch.

 

He adds that wait times for hip and knee replacements are also down, with the number of patients waiting more than a year dropping 62%.

 

McMorris says there's still more to do, but the numbers confirm that the work they've been doing to reduce surgical wait times is paying off.  He says they are taking steps to move toward their aggressive target of a maximum three-month wait for surgery within four years, but they are already seeing some improvement.