Nova Scotia will not meet its pledge to reduce surgical backlog by February

The Progressive Conservatives promised shortly after the August 2021 election that they would cut the backlog to 12,000 people within 18 months

CITYnews halifax \ Canadian Press

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HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government is admitting it will not meet its pledge to reduce the province’s surgical backlog to national standards this month.

The Progressive Conservatives promised shortly after the August 2021 election that they would cut the backlog to 12,000 people within 18 months — by February 2023.

Nova Scotia’s wait list is about 21,500 people, well shy of the standard set by the Wait Times Alliance — a group of national medical specialty societies.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson says that steps have been made to increase efficiency in operating rooms and that the health system is “gaining momentum” toward shrinking the list.

She says that for three consecutive quarters the number of completed surgeries has been larger than the number of new patients added to the surgical wait list.

Health authority CEO Karen Oldfield promised in December that Nova Scotia would hit the 12,000-person target by mid-2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2023.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press