by The provincial Health Department says the surgical wait list has been reduced by more than 4,000 people in the last year.
It says there were 1,873 more surgeries in the 2022-23 fiscal year than in 2019-20.
And, 4,863 more endoscopy and cystoscopy procedures were done last year than in 2019-20.
The Department says some of the changes that led to the higher number of surgeries and procedures include improved scheduling of operating rooms, new acute care beds and an expanded partnership with the private Halifax Vision Centre for cataract surgeries.
It says the number of outpatient hip and knee replacement surgeries increased to 1,193 in 2022-23 from 85 in 2019-20 with those patients returning home to recover rather than taking up hospital beds.