Half the country's district health boards could consider or have committed to prioritising Māori and Pacific patients for some elective surgeries, the Weekend Herald can reveal.
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.
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Capital & Coast and Hutt Valley DHBs - covering the Wellington region - recently confirmed Māori and Pacific patients would be prioritised for surgeries.
Eight others are considering or have left the door open to similar changes, permanently or while surgery backlogs are cleared after Covid restrictions. They are: Northland, Nelson Marlborough, Taranaki, Wairarapa, Southern, Bay of Plenty, MidCentral and Auckland.