Surgery drive little help to quake patients

Labour Party health spokesman Grant Robertson criticised the move yesterday. Photo / Mark Mitchell

District health boards have been instructed to increase elective surgeries to make up for the 4000 Canterbury patients who are missing out on their operations because of the Christchurch earthquake.

But many of the patients who benefit from this will be from Auckland and other parts of the North Island, not Canterbury, a letter obtained by the Herald indicates.

Labour Party health spokesman Grant Robertson criticised the move yesterday.

"The issue is that the minister's obsession with meeting targets means that some Canterbury patients who should be getting surgery are perhaps not going to get it," he said.

In the letter to a North Island DHB, National Health Board deputy director Michael Hundleby says the best estimate is that up to 4000 planned procedures might not be done in Canterbury because of earthquake-related disruption. It is planned that this many procedures be delivered by other DHBs in April, May and June, to ensure the Government's elective surgery target is met.

But Canterbury DHB chief executive David Meates said last night his hospitals' 2010-11 shortfall was likely to be significantly less, at 740 cases.

In the letter, Mr Hundleby says: "Where possible we would like other DHBs to provide services to Canterbury people, but we also appreciate that a number of factors may limit this ... [including] the distance involved in travel ...

"Therefore we are proposing that North Island DHBs concentrate on providing extra surgery to their populations, giving priority to those who have waited over six months.

"However if North Island DHBs identify capacity to provide surgery to Canterbury people in some specialties we would ask you to let us know."

Surgery for Canterbury patients done elsewhere would be paid for by their DHB, the letter says, indicating the extra surgery for others would come from a Government top-up.

The size of the top-up is not stated and Health Minister Tony Ryall's office yesterday said it was too soon to know.

Mr Ryall, who promised to increase elective surgery by 4000 patients a year on average, said the Government's health targets were about treating more patients "and we are determined to meet them".

"We want to keep the elective surgery momentum of the last two years - 400 extra operations per week, 20,000 extra operations a year achieved since we came to office.

"We are doing our level best to try and keep commitments to Christchurch patients through smart use of all available resources in the South Island."

Some Christchurch patients were deferring seeing a specialist or having a less serious operation because of their circumstances, he said.

Those having more serious surgery often needed more care at home because of the earthquake's effects.

Counties Manukau DHB said yesterday it was expected to treat an extra 400 patients.

Counties' board meeting papers say that, coming on top of Mr Ryall seeking assurance that all patients who have waited longer than six months for treatment will be seen soon, treating several hundred more patients is "further adding to the pressure".