Nova Scotia Health achieves high rankings in back-to-back national surgical wait times report

Halifax, NS — For the second year in a row, Nova Scotia Health is among the best in Canada at reducing surgical wait times, ranking top three or better in four categories in the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) report on national wait time benchmark performance.

Nova Scotia was second in Canada for the percentage of cataract surgeries, knee replacements and joint replacements surgeries completed within the national targets and tied for third place for the percentage of hip fractures repaired within the targeted window.

“Placing near the top of the Canadian rankings, for the second year in a row, is proof that the hard work of our teams, and our data-driven investments and improvements are moving us in the right direction,” said Cathy Lynn Howley, senior director of Nova Scotia Health’s Perioperative (Surgical) Services Network.

Nova Scotia Health CIHI Results (based on data from April 1 – Sept. 30, 2025):
•    Hip replacements - 2nd place with 77 per cent of surgeries completed within the 182-day benchmark (up 24 percentage points compared to 2023) – exceeding the Canadian average of 69 per cent completed within the 182-day benchmark. 
•    Knee replacements - 2nd place with 69 per cent of surgeries completed within the 182-day benchmark (up 22 percentage points compared to 2023) – exceeding the Canadian average of 63 per cent completed within the 182-day benchmark. 
•    Cataract surgeries – 2nd place with 77 per cent of surgeries completed within the 112-day benchmark (up nine percentage points compared to 2023) – exceeding the Canadian average of 70 per cent completed within the 112-day benchmark. 
•    Hip fracture repair – 3rd place with 87 per cent of surgeries completed within the 48-hour benchmark (up four percentage points compared to 2023) – exceeding the Canadian average of 84 per cent completed within the 48-hour benchmark. 
•    Wait time improvements were also noted in several other areas compared to 2024 data, including waits for lung, bladder and prostate cancer surgeries.

In addition to positive surgical wait time trends, Nova Scotia also increased the number of surgeries and diagnostic imaging services completed during this same timeframe, including: 
•    Hip replacements, bladder cancer surgeries, CT scans and MRIs were each up more than 20 per cent compared to 2019.
•    Cataract, cardiac bypass and prostate cancer surgeries were each up more than 40 per cent compared to 2019.

“This report mirrors our own data showing that we are making gains year over year and serving as further motivation to remain focused on what is needed to provide Nova Scotians with timely, reliable access to the quality surgical care they need,” said Howley.

In 2022, Nova Scotia Health began a multi-year plan to improve access to surgeries, along with endoscopy procedures and diagnostic imaging services. The results and trends are encouraging.
For the past four years Nova Scotia Health teams have provided more patients with the surgeries they need, decreased the wait lists for these services and delivered more surgeries to Nova Scotians within wait time targets.

Nova Scotia Health data highlights: 
•    Surgical volumes – 59,091 patients had scheduled surgeries in 2025-26, up 17 per cent (8,426 cases) compared to pre-COVID (50,666) and about 1,500 more than last year (2024-25). 
•    Operating room hours – In 2025-2026 teams spent 110,951 hours completing scheduled surgeries in operating rooms, up 14 per cent (13,644 hours) compared to pre-COVID (97,306 hours) and about 2,500 more hours than last year (2024-25). 
•    Surgical waitlist – On March 31, 2026, Nova Scotia Health’s surgical waitlist was at 16,280, nearly the lowest since Nova Scotia Health formed in 2015, down more than 30 per cent from the 23,644 patients waiting at the start of the pandemic (2019-20).
•    Surgical wait times – The average surgical wait time for all surgeries completed decreased to 93 days in fiscal 2025-26, which is the lowest since fiscal 2019-20.
•    Surgical long waiters (waiting more than 365 days) – decreased to 1,300 patients by the end of 2025-2026, which is a 10-year low for Nova Scotia Health
•    Diagnostic Imaging – 228,904 patients had their CT scan in fiscal 2024-25, up 35 per cent compared to 2019-20; 53,093 patients had their MRI in fiscal 2024-25, up 33 per cent compared to 2019-20.

(Data as captured June 24, 2026)
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