Heart-attack victims can be rushed to a private hospital for insured treatment for the first time in New Zealand - and health insurers are looking to bypass other services dominated by public hospitals.
Mercy Hospital in Epsom opened a coronary care unit for acute patients yesterday, pipping the Ascot,which hopes to offer similar services within months. Mercy patients with Southern Cross insurance will have their expenses paid.
Patients suffering acute chest pains or mild heart attacks can be referred directly to the unit by GPs, although patients struck down by massive heart attacks are still likely to be taken to a public hospital.
Competition between private and public hospitals appears to be heating up, with the Mercy opening coming just days after the publicly funded National Women's Hospital started a luxury post-birth service for paying patients.
The chief executive of Southern Cross, Roger Bowie, said private insurers were likely to pick up increasing amounts of emergency work in the future.
"The old distinction between acute surgery going to public hospitals and elective to private is becoming increasingly blurred.
"This should be seen as a help to the public sector. In the past we were accused of only doing the easy work, and if we are now doing the hard stuff, it has got to be good news."
Mr Bowie said the new service at Mercy was something of an experiment, and had taken months to plan.
But Labour health spokeswoman Annette King said it was stupid for private hospitals to compete in areas where the public system was well-staffed and highly competent. "Private hospitals need to know that under a Labour Government they won't be getting a single dollar for emergency procedures that can be carried out in the public system.
"Currently, private hospitals are seeking public contracts and getting them. If they are relying on these contracts for their businesses to survive they will lose out under Labour."
Mercy chief executive Tony Duncan said the new unit offered an alternative for patients who were privately insured.
Ascot chief executive Chris O'Reilly said it was developing an urgent specialist assessment service. He indicated it could have to rethink its plans to make patients pay for its new services, after Mercy announced its insurance cover.
