More than 800 knee replacement procedures were carried out last year, reaching a new record.

Replying to a parliamentary question by PN MP Chris Said, Health Minister Chris Fearne said the government had paid for 821 procedures of this type.

Many were carried out at Mater Dei Hospital but others were performed at private hospitals thanks to an agreement that exists between the state and the private sector. Knee replacement operations in the private sector were first carried out in April.

Mr Fearne said 403 patients who had a knee replacement op last year had been waiting for the procedure for over a year.