Manitoba adding 800 hip and knee surgeries in Selkirk

The Selkirk Regional Health Centre on May 19, 2023. (Source: Glenn Pismenny/CTV News)

The Manitoba government is taking steps to lower healthcare wait times by adding 800 hip and knee surgeries at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced the news on Wednesday, saying that adding more surgeries means more Manitobans are getting the care they need.

“Each one of these 800 surgeries will mean one less Manitoban waiting in pain,” Asagwara said.

“We know as a government that reducing wait times does not have to be complicated. You don’t need to send folks out of province or out of the country to get the essential surgical care that they need, can get, and deserve to get right here at home.”

Asagwara said that the province will be providing the annual funding for staffing and operating space that will allow for the additional 800 surgeries.

The minister noted that more hip and knee surgeries were performed in the province in the last year than ever before, adding that a new surgical wait time database will prioritize those who have been waiting the longest for surgery.

“We know that doing the work of fixing health care is going to take us time…but as we continue to take steps like this, we know that we’re moving health care in the right direction,” Asagwara said.

“We’re making more capacity here in our system for Manitobans, and we’re delivering on the healthcare promises that Manitobans are counting on us to do.”

In addition to expanding surgical capacity, the province is adding a 15-bed transitional care unit, 30 fully staffed medicine beds, and funding for seven-days-a-week discharge at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre.

The Interlake-Eastern region will also have improved access to urgent care in the coming years as planning for the Eriksdale emergency room heads to the consultation phase.