07/20/2012 - According to the latest stats from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, close to 89 percent of patients waiting for surgery in Saskatchewan are receiving it within six months. The health system's goal for 2012-13 is to provide all patients an offer of surgery within six months. Jeremy Duncan, Minister of Health further adds: There were 3,995 people waiting more than 12 months for surgery when the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative was announced in April 2010. That number was down to 913 by May 2012. The number of cases with waits longer than six months dropped 55 percent from 9,873 in April 2010 to 4,451 in May 2012.