New Brunswick is hoping to reduce the patient waitlist for cataract surgeries through increased access.

Horizon Health has partnered with a Fredericton-based ophthalmology clinic, the province announced Wednesday.

The Fredericton Cataract Surgical Centre can complete more than 3,200 surgeries each year.

It is expected the move will help reduce the patient waitlist and help meet the national benchmark wait time of 112 days.

“We have seen significant progress in Bathurst for more than a year and promising improvements in Miramichi when it comes to reducing the wait times, and we know the team here in Fredericton is confident it can provide quality public health care through this model,” Health Minister Bruce Fitch said in a news release.

The initial project launched in September 2022 when Vitalité Health partnered with a Bathurst ophthalmology centre to perform cataract surgeries. Horizon later formed a similar partnership with a Miramichi centre this past April.

Since then, more than 2,300 surgeries have been performed in Bathurst and more than 1,100 in Miramichi.

Surgeries done at the Fredericton centre will be covered by Medicare, as they would if they were performed in a hospital.