Newfoundland and Labrador continues to lag behind many parts of the country when it comes to wait times for some major procedures.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, just 41 percent of all hip replacement surgeries performed in Newfoundland and Labrador last year fell within benchmark wait times, with just 33 per cent of knee replacement surgeries performed within the benchmark time frame.

Cataract surgeries came with 57 per cent of national benchmarks.

That’s despite an increase in the number of procedures performed.

The national average was 68 per cent for hip replacements, 61 per cent for knee replacements, and 69 per cent for cataract surgery.

Director of Health System Analytics with CIHI, Cheryl Chui says that the surgical backlog across Canada has effectively cleared, but the ripple effects persist, affecting wait times.

She says among the existing challenges are a growing and aging population, health workforce shortages and increased medical complexity in patients.