Health minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says the health system has turned a corner and wants Te Whatu Ora to provide up-to-date health data to prove it.
She said the latest data would show there is no one waiting longer than a year for elective surgery at Auckland hospital and that wait time is now under three years across the country.
“Te Whatu Ora needs to name a date that they will publish their data. I certainly hope we are able to share more of our data between here and the election.
“I want to be able to show the story of improvements particularly in planned care (elective) statistics that we’ve been working very hard on but Te Whatu Ora has responsibility for that process and I’d seek them to be clear about what they would do.”
The flow of data out of the new national health entity was intended to be timely with board papers released through the Official Information Act showing a plan for monthly data drops showing the public the state of the health system.
That stream of data was choked in March after health bureaucrats gave Verrall’s office inaccurate data that she then released publicly.
The most current health data was released mid-July and was less detailed than the last batch released in March. That data spanned 2022 by month over 12 categories of which the one measuring emergency department pressure contained an inaccurate number.
The latest data spanned 11 categories - the emergency department data is under deeper inquiry - and compared only March 31 this year to March 31 last year.
It would be six-months-old the week of the election at the time the next quarterly installment is due to drop, showing the state of the system to June 30.
A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson said a “timeframe” would be released “in the very near future” setting out when that quarterly data would be published.
Verrall said the damage the pandemic had done to waiting lists and the health system was compounded because of “a decade plus of underfunding before”.
She said opposition health spokesman Dr Shane Reti and the National Party needed to assure New Zealand it would fund the health system properly rather than the “austerity” approach in the last administration.
“That would set us back so much if it was a return of that type of austerity.”
The most recent detailed figures were released in March 2023 and showed those waiting more than a year for elective surgery had soared during 2022 from 2487 in January to 6003 in December.
By December, five regions carried 51 per cent of the year-plus waiting list with 3087 people waiting more than a year for surgery in Northland, Taranaki, Manawatū, Hutt Valley and Southland.
The latest figures published in mid-July provided no data for January or February but show in March the number of people waiting more than a year had dropped to 4857. Those five leading regions had 2193 people waiting more than a year - 45 per cent of the waiting list.
Auckland hospital was under less pressure than most others with its year-plus waiting list for elective surgery peaking at 467 people in July 2022 and down to 185 people in March this year.
Verrall said it was now zero and Auckland hospital was now helping others attack their waiting lists.
“(Across the country) they have cleared off all the people waiting three years (and) have a plan for the majority of people under two years.”
Verrall said the health system had shifted its strategy for surgery by prioritising people primarily by clinical necessity but also by the length of time they had waited.
“Those long waits are coming down and that’s what that’s what I want to be talking about - the fact that we’ve turned it around and that we will soon be getting people treated in much more sensible time frames.”
She said each region had weekly targets “and I’m advised they’re hitting that goal”.
Verrall said the two measures in focus for elective surgery were those facing an “unacceptable” year-long wait and those waiting four months which was “where we want to get back to”.
“So that’s a story we want to be able to talk to people about because it’s been a big process for us since Covid.”
Verrall said the challenge and impact of the pandemic was such that it was “not realistic” to bounce back in 12 months but progress was being made.
“That’s why I need data to be able to tell (this) … very science literate sector that they are making progress … with their hard work.”
The recently completed inquiry into the release of the inaccurate data found Te Whatu Ora was never going to be able to produce the monthly data drops its board was promised last September.
It found public servants knew at the time it wasn’t possible but “no one spoke up and told the board that monthly public reporting was not feasible without compromising quality and trust in data”.
The inquiry report into the data bungle was highly critical of Te Whatu Ora saying there was “a lack of clarity of roles, responsibilities and accountability” for data quality.
It also said there was “no clear understanding about what is meaningful information to the public and what the public would like to see reported” on Te Whatu Ora’s performance.
Verrall said failure to speak up over data capability “does concern me” and she was unaware if there were other similar situations. “All of those norms of giving fearless advice in the public service I’d also expect to be present in Te Whatu Ora’s management team as well.”
National Party health spokesman Dr Shane Reti said there was a “culture of fear” at Te Whatu Ora with hundreds of people facing losing their jobs. “It’s fear for their jobs that would make them not want to be the tall poppy and raise hands.”
Reti said the “biggest failure” was the collapse of emergency department numbers from the data collection as provided a “key snapshot” of the health system. The review highlighted the need for greater inquiry into issues around the data collection.
Reti said it could be next year before emergency department data was available which was “completely unacceptable”.
Kaikohe’s Gaye Maurice waited four years for foot surgery she said, earlier this year working sometimes 16 hours a day, often on her feet, managing The Bank pub in Kaikohe. Pain was a constant companion. “Sometimes you just felt the tears coming,” she said. “I just learned to put up with it.”
Maurice said she was still waiting - this time to see a specialist for a follow-up to the surgery. “It’s just a wait-and-see game.”
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