Bay of Plenty District Health Board has begun clearing the backlog after a halt on elective surgeries over lockdown. Photo / File
Bay of Plenty District Health Board has begun clearing the backlog after a halt on elective surgeries over lockdown. Photo / File
At least 1000 elective and urgent surgeries in Tauranga and Whakatāne have been performed since the beginning of May as hospitals attempt to clear a backlog of operations caused by the lockdown.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board is also considering prioritising Māori and Pacific patients for some electivesurgeries to ensure they don't fall further behind.
Currently, people accepted for treatment are given a priority ranking. For example, priority one patients are considered urgent and might be seen within two weeks, priority two may be seen within six to eight weeks, and priority three and non-urgent cases face a wait of months.
Bay of Plenty DHB's chief operating officer Pete Chandler told the NZME it would increase surgery volumes for all patients and was "exploring the appropriateness of prioritising the selection of Māori patients for surgical treatment in some specialities in relation to our backlog recovery approach". Data work was being done to find what areas had obvious disparities.
"One thing we have found is that of all of our patients are waiting longer than the four-month standard for surgery, a higher proportion of these patients are Māori and so this is something we want to put right," Chandler said.
Elective surgeries ground to a halt throughout New Zealand due to strict lockdown rules introduced to stop the spread of Covid-19 and free up hospital beds for a potential influx of infected patients.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board (BOPDHB) typically performs an average of 129 elective surgeries per week, across Tauranga and Whakatāne facilities.
During alert level 4, from March 25 to April 27, the health board deferred 462 elective surgeries. It performed 445 urgent elective surgeries.
In May, 280 elective surgeries were deferred. These figures represent both patient-initiated and DHB deferrals, a spokeswoman said.
However, since level two has become the new "normal" on May 13 and two weeks before it, the DHB says it performed 1137 elective surgeries and 244 urgent elective surgeries, including colonoscopy, gastroscopy and cardiology procedures.
"There is currently a team working to clear the backlog and we are looking at multiple strategies to address the backlog, for example, extended outpatient and theatre sessions and working with private and community providers to explore options available.
"We want people to know that they remain on our waitlists and to be assured we will be in contact when we are able to give an update on the timing of appointments," a spokeswoman said.
Moving to alert level one meant the DHB could increase the elective surgery delivery, being mindful of the golden rules."
The DHB was continuing to evolve its recovery plan and, at this stage, it was not possible to give an accurate estimate of how long it would take for the elective surgery backlog to be cleared, the spokeswoman said.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board typically performs an average of 129 elective surgeries per week. Photo / File
Bay of Plenty DHB told the Weekend Herald it was considering prioritising Māori and Pacific patients for some elective surgeries while surgery backlogs were cleared.
The changes are an effort to make sure those groups don't fall further behind the Pākehā majority as DHBs clear huge backlogs of planned procedures and surgeries, caused by the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Currently, people accepted for treatment are given a priority ranking. For example, priority one patients are considered urgent and might be seen within two weeks, priority two may be seen within six to eight weeks, and priority three and non-urgent cases face a wait of months.
Bay of Plenty DHB's chief operating officer Pete Chandler told the NZME it would increase surgery volumes for all patients and was "exploring the appropriateness of prioritising the selection of Māori patients for surgical treatment in some specialities in relation to our backlog recovery approach". Data work was being done to find what areas had obvious disparities.
"One thing we have found is that of all of our patients are waiting longer than the four-month standard for surgery, a higher proportion of these patients are Māori and so this is something we want to put right," Chandler said.
Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi representative Paora Stanley. Photo / File
Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi representative Paora Stanley told the Bay of Plenty Times the consideration made him feel jubilant as he knew there was a significant number of Māori struggling at the moment.
"For me, I am immensely supportive of that, you have to be. It is helping to embrace some significant issues around our communities, whatever that surgery may be.
"If we allow Māori health to become underutilised by our inability to deliver the services effectively then we will as a country pay for it. You have to invest in the front end, and elective surgery is one of them."
Age Concern Tauranga general manager Tanya Smith. Photo / File
Tauranga Age Concern general manager Tanya Smith believed the initiative would be great for both local Māori and Pacific populations.
"Whatever they can do to help our older community, we need that because they have a lot of life skills and stories to share in the community, and if they are feeling well they are able to interact and give back."
