Sungmi Kim/Stuff
The coronavirus changed many aspects of our lives, including ready access to healthcare.
Patients needing to see a specialist in Te Tauihu are getting seen sooner, but the wait for treatment after that appointment is getting longer.
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand data for the 12 months ending December 2022, shows that in Nelson Marlborough the number of patients getting their first appointment with a specialist within four months rose by 7.7% to 80%.
But, in contrast, the number of patients whose treatment then began within four months fell to 45.7% – a 7.9% drop since January 2022.
In December 75 people had been waiting more than a year for their first specialist appointment compared to 106 in January, and a peak of 283 in June. Meanwhile, the number of people waiting more than a year for treatment rose from 12 in January to 100 in December, peaking at 132 in August.
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Te Whatu Ora – Nelson Marlborough interim hospital and specialist services lead Lexie O’Shea said health services were under pressure and doing all it could to deliver planned care.
Pressure included workforce shortages, and continuing backlogs from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is disrupting hospital systems across the world including planned care activity and the volumes of elective surgery planned,” she said.
“All efforts are being made to boost and build a sustainable health workforce, in what continues to be a challenging environment. Addressing workforce shortages across the health sector is our priority, with a focus on both international recruitment and on growing the domestic workforce.”
The goal was for all patients to have their first specialist assessment within four months, and to then be treated with four months.
Te Whatu Ora – Nelson Marlborough interim hospital and specialist services lead Lexie O’Shea said health services were under pressure and doing all it could to deliver planned care.
But, practically, specialists could see more patients for assessment than they could treat, which led to the disparity, O’Shea said.
“Clinic appointments are more available”
A clinician could see up to 10 patients a day for assessment and follow-up appointments several days a week, but may only be in theatre one or two days a week.
“In theatre, unlike in clinic, the specialist may only be able to treat a small number of patients, three to four for example, depending on the procedure’s operating time.”
Treatment also required more resources than the assessment appointment, she said.
“Theatre relies on having sufficient staff and bed resources each day. This is managed on a session-by-session basis.”
Te Whatu Ora – Nelson Marlborough was working to reduce waiting times by “working to improve communication around wait lists with our patients”, as well as improving wait list data, treating those who have been waiting the longest, and creating additional capacity for treatment, she said.
“We want to assure patients and their families that we will treat you as soon as we safely can, prioritising those with the greatest needs first.
“Our teams are working incredibly hard to ensure we are doing all that we can to deliver care to our community.”