Juggling distorts surgery wait list

By FRANCESCA MOLD and MONIQUE DEVEREUX

The good news is that waiting lists are getting better.

The bad news is you will probably still have to wait for surgery under the public health system.

On Sunday, Health Minister Annette King announced that surgical waiting lists were cut by 20,000, a drop of 56 per cent, over a three-month period last year.

But critics, mainly doctors, have dismissed the figures, saying that although some people did get their operations, most were simply moved from one waiting list to a new one.

Ministry figures covering all hospitals do show fewer people are waiting for operations now than two years ago.

At the end of 1998, the quarterly report covering the ministry's booking system listed 823 people around the country as "waiting for treatment" for longer than six months, for heart and lung problems.

It showed that at least 10,349 people were waiting for orthopaedic treatment, including hip replacements, and 5935 patients were waiting for ear, nose and throat procedures.

By last September, the ministry's elective services quarterly report showed, those figures had been reduced dramatically.

The number of heart and lung patients waiting for more than six months totalled 394, orthopaedics patients 2969, and ear, nose and throat patients 1948.

But in those two years, the waiting system changed and the old residual list was replaced by an "active review" list.

This led to 20,000 names disappearing from the residual list and 17,000 being added to the active review list.

Although the number of people on this list is now about 17,000, officials expect it to drop, then stabilise around 12,000.

outside the list of criteria, they can still recommend an operation for their patient, but they must document the reasons for their recommendation.

Health officials say it is important that doctors are honest about the reasons for putting a patient ahead of others who qualify under the points system, so that adjustments to the criteria can be made in the future.

Medical Association chairwoman Dr Pippa Mackay said yesterday that credit should be given where it was due.

The Government had managed to clear up waiting lists by reviewing patients' conditions and more operations were being done as a result of the injection of money. But she said it was untrue to say waiting lists had been slashed by such huge proportions.

"We have to wonder if the extra funding will continue. I know there isn't an open chequebook and that everyone wants a slice of the money."

She said elective surgery was a very public and political issue and that some needy people could not get surgery.

Dr Mackay said it upset her that politicians raised public expectations with promises that were not backed up with funding.