Dr William Ranger - clinical director of public health medicine, Te Manawa Taki (central North Island region including Tairāwhiti) - said childhood immunisation rates in Tairāwhiti were improving, but significant work lay ahead.
Collaboration had been strong between Tairāwhiti Hauora Māori and Pacific providers, primary care organisations and Health NZ to improve access to services and build trust within communities.
A range of initiatives were under way or planned to further boost immunisation coverage.
“These include strengthening the vaccinator workforce, enhancing support for community healthcare providers, offering outreach immunisation and opportunistic vaccination in settings such as hospitals, supporting community-led health promotion, and improving data quality,” Ranger said.
Questioned about immunisation disinformation, Ranger said there were community engagement efforts aimed at countering misinformation and improving understanding of immunisation.
The report said immunisation rates here and overseas had been falling steadily over the past few years.
The decrease recorded in the September quarter was part of a seasonal trend, and vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and disinformation had contributed to the decline.
The national target for improving immunisation for children by 2030 is 95%, and the “annual milestone” target for 2024-2025 was 84%.
The highest rating districts – Canterbury with 85.9% and Southern (Otago and Southland) with 85.7% - were the only two of 20 health districts to achieve the milestone target.
Tairāwhiti also recorded the lowest percentage, 48.8%, in the health target of patients being treated within four months of being given a commitment for elective treatment.
The 2024-2025 annual milestone target of 63% was achieved by 11 health districts. The 2030 target is 95%.
The national average was 62.2%.
Health NZ-Tairāwhiti director of operations John Swiatczak said shortening the wait times for elective surgery was slowly improving across the country.
Recruiting senior doctors was an ongoing priority, he said.
There was a shortage of senior medical officers worldwide, and Tairāwhiti was no exception.
“At the moment, we have vacancies in radiology, psychiatry, anaesthesia, cardiology, ear, nose and throat, general medicine, orthopaedics, and ophthalmology,” Swiatczak said.
“We are recruiting both nationally and internationally for these positions and are maintaining our services using locums, contracts and partnering with our colleagues regionally and nationally where we can.
“Bringing international appointees on does take time, as they must meet Medical Council and visa requirements, as well as spend some time in local training and supervision.
“But in the near-term, we are looking forward to the arrival of three general medicine specialists and a paediatrician from overseas.
“Our staff continue to do great mahi, and every step towards achieving better ground with the health targets is based on their dedication and commitment to provide quality patient care and reduce waiting times.”
In terms of the faster cancer treatment health target, Tairāwhiti (96.4%) surpassed the 2024-2025 milestone target of 86% and the 2030 target of 90% of eligible cancer patients receiving their first treatment within 31 days of a health professional deciding to give treatment.
Swiatczak said the organisation had a proactive approach to tracking a patient’s cancer treatment journey - which may involve some patients going to Waikato Hospital - allowing them to reach the 31-day treatment target.
“As part of this, we work to identify potential bottlenecks for treatment at an early stage. Our teams collaborate with a multi-disciplinary approach and prioritising the relationship between clinicians and patients.”
Wairarapa (94.6%) also achieved the 2030 target, while six other districts surpassed 86%. The national average was 84.6%.
Tairāwhiti also recorded the highest percentage for the health target of shorter stays in emergency departments, with 92.2% of patients being admitted, discharged or transferred from ED within six hours.
The 2024-2025 milestone target was 74%, while the 2030 target is 95%.
An NZ Herald investigation found the Gisborne ED was the second best in the country when it came to assessing and treating patients within clinically recommended timeframes, behind the much smaller Te Kuiti ED.
Swiatczak said there was a strong clinical and managerial leadership team “committed to maintaining and exceeding this important quality of care indicator”.
Tairāwhiti was one of six districts to meet the 74%. The national average was 67.5%.
Tairāwhiti (62.6%) also reached the milestone target of 62% for the health target of patients waiting less than four months from their date of referral to their first specialist assessment.
Swiatczak said they wanted to improve on this.
“This is a challenge, and we are working with colleagues to focus on specialty patients to reduce waiting times.”
Ten other health districts reached the milestone target while Lakes (Rotorua), at 97.45%, was the only district to reach the 2030 target of 95%.
The national average was 61.2%.
