More Bay of Plenty and Lakes patients are having elective surgeries within four months, but the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton (inset) says this is unsustainable long-term. Photo / Mead Norton, Supplied
More Bay of Plenty and Lakes patients are having elective surgeries within four months, but the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton (inset) says this is unsustainable long-term. Photo / Mead Norton, Supplied
An increase in Bay of Plenty and Lakes patients having elective surgeries sooner is “not sustainable” amid staffing shortages, the senior doctors’ union says.
The nurse’s union also says there are still not enough doctors and resources “to meet the public’s demand”.
Health Minister Simeon Brown released the latest quarterlyresults for the Government’s five health targets last week.
It showed more patients were seen within four months for elective procedures during the April to June quarter compared with the previous quarter, rising from 71.8% to 79% in the Bay of Plenty and 55.1% to 66% in the Lakes.
Brown said the Government’s “elective boost” added more than 16,000 procedures nationally from February to June by partnering with the private sector, helping to reduce treatment waiting times.
More Bay of Plenty – Tauranga and Whakatāne – patients were seen within four months for a first specialist assessment (FSA), up from 48.8% to 58.9%.
In the Lakes – Rotorua and Taupō – it decreased from 96.3% to 95%.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate Melissa Jacobsen, who works at Tauranga Hospital, said patients getting their FSA in four months “does not guarantee they will have their treatment within a reasonable timeframe”.
“We still do not have enough staff, doctors, resources or facilities to meet the public’s demand.”
Jacobsen said her department pre-assessed 15 to 20 joint replacement patients for surgery per week, on average, but only seven were booked in theatres last week, which was “normal”.
NZNO delegate and Tauranga Hospital registered nurse Melissa Jacobsen pictured at an NZNO strike in July. Photo / Rosalie Liddle Crawford
She said pulling data from a select number of patients “does not mean the ones who have been waiting more than four months are being treated any faster”.
Jacobsen said she believed the “newest” patients were being seen within four months, “so the numbers can be bumped up”.
As part of ongoing industrial action, more than 36,000 NZNO members voted on Friday to strike on October 23, joining about 40,000 primary school teachers and 11,000 allied health workers.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said the targets did not address “what is going on behind the number”.
“Short sprints of extra effort may make a difference from one quarter to the next, but they also burn people out. Longer term, they are not sustainable.”
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton. Photo / Supplied
Dalton said there was an ongoing shortage of medical specialists across services and districts.
“A lack of colleagues makes it impossible for our members to deliver the level of care they want to deliver.
“Perhaps the minister could introduce some recruitment and retention targets to address that?”
Dalton said based on the minister’s data, dated back to 2020/21, the last quarter of the financial year “often” showed a dip in people waiting for an FSA.
Visiting Tauranga on Wednesday, Labour Party health spokeswoman and former Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall told NZME, “the fundamentals of the health system are getting worse, no matter what those targets say”.
“There are longer waits for first specialist appointments than when I was minister,” she said.
Outsourcing elective surgeries to the private sector was “a short-term solution” that made recruiting enough surgeons for public hospitals harder long-term.
Health Minister Simeon Brown says patients are "being seen sooner, diagnosed earlier and starting treatment faster”. Photo / Brydie Thompson
Brown said he was pleased by the Bay of Plenty and Lakes teams’ achievements in the last quarter.
He said their dedication resulted in the Bay of Plenty ranking third nationally for shorter elective treatment wait times and faster cancer treatment targets.
“Instead of recognising the outstanding results delivered by these teams, Ayesha Verrall and the unions are criticising their success.”
Brown said more than 1000 fewer people in the Bay of Plenty and 531 people fewer in Lakes were waiting for an FSA under National than when she was minister.
“Patients are being seen sooner, diagnosed earlier and starting treatment faster.”
Brown said the Government was delivering “record” health funding – more than $30 billion this year – “with a clear focus on putting patients first and improving outcomes”.
He said the Government reinstated health targets to “drive accountability” and was seeing good progress.
Brown said record investment was going into frontline services, growing the health workforce, upgrading vital infrastructure, and expanding access to GPs through 24/7 online doctors, urgent care and stronger primary care.
“That means more doctors, nurses and specialists where they are needed most, faster access to treatment and modern facilities that deliver world-class care.”
He thanked staff “whose daily commitment makes this improvement possible”.
