Bruce Erskine has been waiting for over 500 days for a hip replacement consultation, far exceeding the 18-month estimate given by his family doctor in January 2025. The 75-year-old resident of Halifax has seen his mobility decline significantly, now reliant on a cane and unable to enjoy activities with his grandson. Although a June report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information indicated that wait times for hip and knee surgeries in Nova Scotia were at historic lows, these figures only measured the period from surgical consultation to surgery date and failed to account for the wait from initial referral to surgeon consultation. In fact, the median wait for such consultations has more than doubled in the past decade, rising from 92 days in 2015 to 189 days in 2025. Health officials have acknowledged the need to improve consultation wait times, which are exacerbated by an aging population and increased demand for orthopedic surgeries.
Why It Matters
The efficiency of Nova Scotia’s healthcare system is under scrutiny as consultation wait times for hip replacements have significantly increased, even as surgical wait times improve. In 2015, patients faced a total median wait of 265 days for a hip replacement; by 2025, this has grown to 292 days, indicating a concerning trend despite advancements in surgical processes. The increase in consultation wait times can be attributed to higher patient demand driven by the province’s growing and aging population. As healthcare providers implement strategies to streamline surgical processes, there remains an urgent need to address the bottlenecks in initial consultations that are affecting patient quality of life and health outcomes.
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