A record number of hip and knee surgeries performed in 2025 may soon lead to shorter wait times for residents in Neepawa, Manitoba. The Manitoba government reported in a Jan. 28, 2026 news release that doctors completed 7,056 joint replacements in 2025 — the highest annual total on record. Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the record number is part of a plan to help people who have been waiting a long time for relief from joint pain.
Most patients from the area currently travel to Brandon or Winnipeg for these operations while they wait for local services to expand. According to Prairie Mountain Health, the province is working to clear a backlog of patients that grew over the last few years. While the high number of surgeries is a positive sign for the province, local leaders have noted that having enough specialized staff is just as important as the number of procedures being done.
The $127-million Neepawa Health Centre is expected to play a major role in bringing these surgeries closer to home once it opens. Recent reports show the new hospital is roughly 75 per cent complete and will feature expanded surgical suites and increased surgical capacity. These new facilities are designed to handle joint replacements and other surgeries so that local residents do not have to travel long distances for care.
Until the new hospital is ready, local patients continue to be referred to other cities or the Selkirk Regional Health Centre to get their operations done. Local clinicians — including physicians at the Beautiful Plains Community Medical Clinic, who are primary referrers for the area — say they are watching to see whether the provincial surge in surgeries leads to shorter referral-to-consult times for their patients. The provincial government says it is focusing on hiring and retaining more health-care workers to ensure the high volume of surgeries can be sustained in the coming years.
