Simeon Brown: Health Minister on the Government exceeding half-year target for elective surgeries

Belief progress is being made, when it comes to cutting wait times for elective surgeries.

The Government's exceeded its half-year target, by delivering more than 16-thousand extra operations before the end of June. 

It's also wanting 95 percent of patients to be waiting less than four months by 2030.

Health Minister Simeon Brown told Ryan Bridge they're on track to reach 63 percent this year.

He says the list kept growing until the beginning of this year, when it dropped to 58 percent - so they have caught up.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The government's panning itself on the back for new data
showing it smashed its elective surgery targets. Sixteen thousand procedures
were done in June. By June thirty, I should say
that is far above the ten and a half thousand
that they promised. It includes more than five thousand cataracts,
six hundred and thirty eight hips, and seven hundred and
fifty one new knees. Simon Brown is the Health Minister

(00:20):
with us this morning. Minister, good morning, good morning. So yeah,
you're ahead of target. What does it mean for your
overall elective surgery target?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Well, overall, too many kiwis are still waiting too long.
Those are the number of people waiting on those wait
lists grew significantly in recent years and so the elective
boost is designed to reduce those targets. Overall, though we've
seen a nine percent reduction in the overall number of
people waiting and an importantly a twenty two percent reduction

(00:50):
in the number of people waiting more than four months.
And that's where we're really putting the effort into try
and make sure people can get seen in a more
timely manner. And that's where this sourcing arrangements in private
hospitals has been able to help support get those people
who have been waiting too long getting them seen sooner
so we can reduce those weightless.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
So the target's ninety five percent of patients within four
months by twenty thirty. What are you at now?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Correct? So we're still a long way from that target.
So ninety five percent of patient's being seen within four
months by twenty thirty. This puts us on track to
meet this year's milestone of sixty three percent. So, as
I said at the start, too many people still waiting
too long, and that's why we've set another target for
this year of twenty one thousand additional surgeries this year

(01:34):
to continue making progress against those targets.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
So what was it sixty three percent now? Is that
what you're saying?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Correct?

Speaker 1 (01:42):
And what was it when you came in, Well.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
It dropped down to the Well, Unfortunately, the list kept
growing until about the beginning of this year, so it
dropped down to about fifty eight percent. And so this
has helped us to be able to catch up, but
we need to make we need to make signific can
progress in order to give keys that confidence that elective
surgeries can be delivered in a timely manner. And that's

(02:06):
why we're partnering with private hospitals and making sure we're
maximizing what's delivered across both public hospitals and private hospitals
so that keys can get the treatment. And as I say,
I don't think many people really care who's delivering it.
They just want to I.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Don't think so either. I think you're right on that.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
But the question couldn't get done.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
The question has been around the private versus public pulling,
you know, the private pulling resources from the public. Has
the public kept up as selective surgery rates or are
they dropping as the private picks up the snack.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Now what we're seeing is we're seeing is additional surgery
is being delivered by making sure we're maximizing what's being delivered.
So we had a huge focus internally as well around
making sure we're maximizing theater rates sat A utilization, making
sure those surgeries are being done internally as well as
making sure we're outsourcing and maximizing what's being delivered so.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
The rate the same. Are they doing the same or
more soies in public as they were previously pre private outsourcing, Well.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
They're continuing to deliver what they planned within the public system.
This is about making sure we're delivering more by utilizing
our private hospitals, but also some of the investment we're
making is actually into some of Health New Zealand's own
surgical elective surgical hospitals as well. So Health New Zealand
has some of its own dedicated surgical hospitals which aren't

(03:26):
competing with its acute work. They've got two in Auckland.
They've got Totra Homo Doo on the North Shore, they've
got the Manicap Health Park. It's also Burward Hospital in
christ Church. As some of those investments actually going also
into our own surgical hospitals to expand what they can deliver,
which are dedicated to getting as much elective surgery done

(03:47):
through the public system as well.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
So I mean Brown, I appreciate your time this morning,
Health Minister. Sixty three percent targets ninety percent. There's still
a way to go, though they've given themselves a few
years to get there.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
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