Wait times for hip, knee, and cataract surgeries are coming down in Manitoba.

Morden-Winkler MLA Cameron Friesen recently announced $5.3 million in new provincial funding to increase hip and knee replacements by 25 percent, and cataract surgeries by 16 percent, which translates to approximately 1,000 additional hip and knee surgeries and 2,000 cataract procedures in 2019.

"This is a very significant investment," Friesen says. "We've said as a government we are committed to getting Manitobans better care, sooner."

He adds Boundary Trails Health Centre (BTHC) and its orthopedic program will see a number of these additional procedures. In the last year, BTHC completed 423 hip and knee total joint replacements.

"This is about real people," Friesen says. "And when they're on a wait list... that means they're in pain. It negatively affects their lifestyle, it prohibits them from doing the things they want to do."

Friesen adds the move is a part of a broader transformation of the healthcare system that has lagged behind other provinces.

"And as we do that we're going to find efficiencies," Friesen says. "As we find those efficiencies we're going to save some money on behalf of Manitobans which we're then going to turn around and invest in healthcare."