Dr Shane Reti: 1400 Northlanders waiting more than 12 months for a specialist assessment or surgery

Thousands of people nationwide are waiting more than 12 months for a specialist assessment or surgery, figures obtained by National Party health spokesman Dr Shane Reti show. Photo / NZME

OPINION:
Which DHBs have the longest 12-month wait lists?

We are living through some of the worst health wait times in recent memory. There are thousands of New Zealanders nationwide waiting more than 12 months for a specialist assessment or surgery. Unfortunately, the present government has taken a belated approach to prioritise these lists.

Breaking down both wait lists by region shows there are alarmingly high numbers in Northland, with about 800 people waiting more than 12 months for a specialist assessment and almost 650 people waiting more than 12 months for surgery.

That is over 1400 people in Northland alone who have been forced to wait more than a year to address their health needs.

On sheer numbers, you'd expect the larger regions would have the bigger numbers. However, it is Northland that has the dubious award of having the second-highest number of people waiting on both lists.
But we shouldn't let ourselves get lost in the side-by-side comparisons between regional numbers. It is important to remember these are thousands of people around the country who are in pain, and possibly suffering, while they continue to wait more than a year to see a specialist or have surgery.
The target wait time for these lists used to be four months, but events like the Government's removal of targets, Covid-19, and the disruptive bureaucratic health restructuring, have done nothing to lessen the numbers or reach a shorter wait time.
The other month, the Government announced a decision to prioritise the wait lists for those waiting more than 12 months. This is a good first step, but it raises concerns too.

Firstly, has 12 months on a wait list replaced the four-month target?
Secondly, the decision to prioritise people based on how long they have been waiting means it is not focused on need. Imagine being in a lot of pain that affects your day-to-day life and you have been on the surgical wait list for 11 months and 29 days. Under this policy you will not be prioritised further, but forced to wait behind someone who has been on the surgical wait list for 12 months with potentially a much lesser issue. It is a first-in, first-out policy.
This doesn't seem right. I think the severity and need-based scale that is routinely used to prioritise patients (CPAC) could have been explored and used instead.
And thirdly, is there enough capacity for Northland hospitals to suddenly clear the growing number of people languishing on the surgical procedure wait list?
The huge wait-list numbers all anchor back to the health workforce shortages the country is facing. New Zealand is 4000 nurses short and yet the Government has refused to put them on the straight-to-residency pathway, despite rigorous calls from everyone in the sector.
Until the workforce issues are addressed, I wonder how the Government will be able to make a dent on the wait lists, and I continue to add my voice calling for international nurses to have a day-1 pathway to residency.