A pilot project at Waikato Hospital aims to reduce wait times for heart patients. Photo / Thinkstock.
A pilot project at Waikato Hospital aims to reduce wait times for heart patients. Photo / Thinkstock.
Thousands of patients promised elective surgery are waiting longer than the Government-ordered maximum of six months - which next year will shrink to five, then four months.
Waikato District Health Board was the worst performer nationally in the latest statistics published by the Health Ministry, which are for January. CountiesManukau DHB, an acknowledged leader in elective surgery, was the top performer.
Although the goal is zero patients waiting too long, the ministry also sets slightly more lenient "thresholds".
Waikato breached the thresholds in several departments: in excess of 4 per cent of patients who were promised surgery waited more than six months for treatment in plastic surgery (118 patients), gynaecology (89), general surgery (235) and ear, nose and throat (72). The largest non-compliance, by number and proportionally, was for a first specialist assessment in orthopaedics - 337 patients or 8.4 per cent. The threshold for these assessments is that no more than 1.5 per cent wait for over six months.
Nationally around 106,000 patients a year received elective surgery from 2001 to mid-decade, but the number has risen significantly each year since, to 145,400 in the 12 months to last June, as the Government has tried to catch up with population growth.
Since 2006/7, Waikato has increased its elective surgery by 35 per cent - to 12,737 patients in 2010/11.
The DHB's communications director, Mary Anne Gill, said yesterday that there had been a "significant improvement" in waiting times since January.
Chief operating officer Jan Adams said: "Elective discharges were just above plan for March, with plastic surgery throughput offset by lower orthopaedics and [ear, nose and throat] throughput.
"We are continuing to monitor elective discharge activity because of its critical link with the overall surgical health target."
The Government-ordered maximum waiting time for patients promised elective surgery reduces to five months next year.
Health Minister Tony Ryall said the number of booked patients waiting longer than six months for surgery had decreased from 4600 in January 2011, to 2900 in the same month this year.
"It will be a challenge for DHBs to reduce waiting times further - but we have dedicated and innovative teams focused on achieving this."
