Patients waiting for elective surgeries with some of the longest wait times, including hip and knee replacements and cataract extractions, are set to benefit from a $3 million funding injection into specific local health districts.

The average waiting time for a knee replacement at a NSW public hospital is about 288 days, the wait time for a cataract extraction is about 216 days and patients wait an average of 203 days for a hip replacement, according to the latest Bureau of Health Information data from December 2016.

Wait times for common elective surgeries are expected to be cut following a $3 million funding injection. Credit:Louie Douvis

More than 1650 patients got a knee replacement and 943 people got a hip replacement in a NSW public hospital between October and December 2016.

In comparison, the wait time for a gall bladder removal, which was required by about 1570 people during that period, was 49 days.