$5m to avert heart wait-list deaths

Auckland and Northland patients needing state-paid heart surgery have been assured waiting times will shorten following a $5 million boost.

Health Minister Tony Ryall announced the cash yesterday after audits at Auckland City Hospital revealed that 141 patients had in May been waiting too long for surgery.

The maximum wait under clinical guidelines ranges from two weeks to three months, depending on each patient's condition.

Yesterday, the hospital promised to cut waiting times to a maximum of three months by October 31.

Mr Ryall wants to avoid the high-profile deaths on the cardiac waiting list that revealed last year how Wellington Hospital had been struggling to keep up with demand for surgery.

"Auckland has had problems for some time with patients waiting longer than is clinically appropriate, and rather than sit back and let a situation develop similar to the one at Wellington Hospital last year, the Government has taken action," he said.

The new money is increasing the number of Saturday theatre sessions and out-sourcing more operations to public and private hospitals from Auckland to Dunedin.

It is in addition to the $50 million, four-year boost by the previous Labour Government for cardiac surgery nationally last October. That came after a report found New Zealand's rate of taxpayer-funded heart operations per capita had declined, especially at Auckland City Hospital, which provides heart surgery for the Auckland and Northland regions.

New Zealanders have a 35 per cent greater chance than Australians of dying within eight years of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and heart specialists have said the declining rate of surgical intervention was a factor.

Since May, Auckland City Hospital has cut its list of patients waiting too long for heart surgery - mainly coronary artery bypass grafts, plus some valve replacements - to 99.

"However, that is still too many, so the extra money is very welcome," said Auckland District Health Board chief medical officer David Sage.

The general manager of cardiac services, Kay Hyman, said the patients needed urgent but not immediate surgery. Asked when the maximum waits had last been three months, she said: "Possibly a very long time ago, but certainly not for the last five or more years."

In June, 220 patients were on the board's cardiac surgery waiting list. By October 31, that number was planned to be no more than 81, the number of patients who could be treated in three months.

Ms Hyman said the hospital now had very few vacancies for cardiothoracic and vascular intensive care unit nurses.

The health board's cardiac services suffered setbacks after they moved from Green Lane Hospital to the new Auckland City Hospital in 2003. There were problems with surgical instruments and computer systems, and shortages of specialist nurses, particularly in the cardio/vascular ICU.

* Cardiac woes

At Auckland City Hospital:

In May, 141 patients had been waiting too long for heart surgery.

That's now down to 99.

Target by end of October: zero.