Maximum waiting time targets for treatment in hospital emergency departments are going to be introduced, Health Minister Tony Ryall said today.
In notes for a speech delivered to the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine conference in Wellington, Mr Ryall said district health board (DHBs) would be required tomeet a new set of health targets.
"The Government will introduce firm targets for emergency department waiting times," Mr Ryall said.
"No longer will it be acceptable for DHBs to leave patients waiting endlessly."
Mr Ryall said the targets would be set in consultation with clinicians and DHBs to ensure they could be met without compromising care.
Britain had set a target of no patient waiting for more than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.
Within a few years the number of people waiting in British emergency departments for more than four hours fell from 23 per cent to 3 per cent, Mr Ryall said.
Long waiting times led to poor treatment for patients and higher costs in the long run, he said.
A recent study by the health ministry of one large emergency department and two medium-sized ones showed a significant minority spent more than several hours waiting.
At one of the hospitals 20 per cent of patients spent eight hours the emergency department.
The number of people turning up at emergency departments had increased by 20 per cent in the past five years.
There was pressure on emergency departments because there were no beds available in wards.
Mr Ryall said there had been little accountability for DHB managers, but they would now be held accountable for meeting health targets which would be included in performance agreements.
As an opposition MP Mr Ryall frequently highlighted long delays in emergency wards as he attacked the Labour government's health policies.
