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The province will spend $5.3 million to ensure more hip replacements, knee replacements and cataract surgeries are performed in 2019.

The new funding is meant to cut wait times for the procedures by reducing waiting lists, though government hasn’t offered a clear wait-time reduction target.

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“Obviously, the target is we want wait times to drop … At this point in time, it’s still a bit new to know (the exact target),” said Health Minister Cameron Friesen.

Friesen said the funding will allow at least 1,000 additional hip and knee replacements to take place next year, as well as 2,000 more cataract surgeries. That adds on to about 4,100 hip and knee replacements and 12,900 cataract surgeries performed in 2017-18.

As of September 2018, Manitoba Health data shows the median wait for hip replacements (the point at which half the patients have had their treatment) is either 28 or 50 weeks, depending on location. For knee replacements, that median wait ranges between 30 and 73 weeks, while patients tend to face a median wait of between six and 27 weeks for cataract surgery.