Tas govt claims cut in surgery wait

Tasmania's elective surgery waiting times are at their lowest in more than a decade, the state government says.

During the 2016 winter there were 5300 elective surgeries completed at public hospitals at Hobart, Launceston and in the state's northwest, Health Minister Michael Ferguson told parliament on Thursday.

"At the end of August the elective surgery waiting list remained at a record low, this is at the end of winter, at just over 5900 people compared to the more than 7200 at the end of August 2013," he said.