Govt delivers record rise in elective surgery tally

Health Minister Tony Ryall. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Government has delivered a record increase in the number of people who received elective surgery.

Last year, 134,763 patients got elective surgery funded by district health boards, which is in excess of 12,000 more than the number treated in 2008.

It is the second time the National Government has claimed a record of this magnitude in elective surgery.

Last August, it trumpeted "preliminary" figures showing an increase of 12,265 during the year to June 30.

But Health Minister Tony Ryall's office said yesterday that that figure had been "revised downwards slightly" to about 11,900.

Regardless of that, the Ministry of Health figures Mr Ryall released yesterday show that - apart from reductions in Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay - district health boards have maintained their momentum on elective surgery.

He attributes their performance to his Government's focus on expanding elective surgery as a central goal.

"We are talking of an unprecedented increase in elective surgery. It means there are thousands of patients around the country who had operations for the likes of new joints, cataracts or other much-needed surgery in 2009, who could have missed out in previous years.

"This is about DHBs moving resources to improve important front-line services," the minister said.

The performance far exceeds National's goal, which was an increase of 4000 a year.

Some of the biggest increases were at Waikato DHB (17 per cent), and in the Auckland region, where the Auckland DHB achieved 12 per cent and Counties Manukau 13 per cent.

Counties chief operating officer Ron Dunham said last night: "We've done really well. It's been a big team effort to get us there."

He said a number of improvements were responsible.

These included overcoming shortages of anaesthetic technicians and other health workers; increasing the number of pre-operative assessments at the Manukau SuperClinic; Saturday surgery; increasing the number of staffed hospital beds; and increasing the proportions of day surgery and surgery requiring an overnight stay but done on the day of admission.

Counties' increase has not been at the expense of acute surgery or medical (non-surgical) inpatient care, both of which increased in volume last year.

And the proportion of elective surgery the DHB contracts to the private sector remained stable last year at about 12 per cent.

Labour's health spokeswoman, Ruth Dyson, had reservations about Mr Ryall's figures on the national increase, saying: "If it's true, good."

But she attributed the increase in part to Labour's huge hospital rebuilding programme and its pay increases to doctors and nurses.

And she said the elective surgery increase was accompanied by many cuts in other services, such as to home help for the elderly, which could enable people to stay living in their own homes, and to the budget for equipment such as wheelchair ramps in the homes of those with disabilities.