Elective surgery boost: 21,000 more operations as Govt pays private hospitals more

An extra 21,000 operations will be performed over the next year as the Government spends more on private hospitals.

Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the changes this morning as part of the Government’s Elective Boost programme.

Brown said the switch to using more private hospitals meant thousands more New Zealanders would get the procedures they need faster.

“With over 215,000 procedures set to go ahead over the next year – over 21,000 more than previously planned – wait times will reduce, helping more Kiwis access life-changing operations like hip and knee replacements and cataract surgeries sooner.

“We’re making the health system work smarter, using both public hospitals and private providers in a coordinated national effort. New Zealanders don’t care who does the operation – they just want it done and done quickly.”

Brown said many of the procedures would be delivered in Health New Zealand’s dedicated elective facilities, including Manukau Health Park, Tōtara Haumaru on the North Shore, and Burwood Hospital in Christchurch. Others would be completed by private hospitals under new national agreements.

Agreements had been signed with 60 private providers.

Brown has previously been warned by health officials that outsourcing operations created several risks, including the loss of specialists from public to private hospitals and increased wait times for more complex cases - private hospitals typically do more simple operations.

Asked about whether private hospitals provided the same value as public ones today, Brown said: “The patient doesn’t care who owns the roof of the operating theatre. We are unlocking capacity across the public system and the private system to reduce wait-times for Kiwis.”

Last week, the Auditor-General John Ryan also warned about increased outsourcing of elective operations.

Access to private hospitals was not the same around the country, Ryan said in a report. And patients selected for outsourcing usually had less complex conditions. This meant patients with complex conditions languished on public lists while others were seen more quickly in private settings.

Brown said today that he had read the report and it included helpful advice for Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora.

“But ultimately this is about getting patients seen. the only way to get patients seen is by delivering more surgeries.”

The Government has set a target of 95 per cent of patients waiting less than four months for elective surgery by 2030. In the most recent quarter, the rate was 57.3 per cent.

Ten years ago, 98 per cent of patients were treated within this timeframe, but this began falling because of workforce and demographic pressures. These factors were then worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic because the health system focused on acute care and halting the spread of infection.

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