District health boards are putting more than $8 million extra into cutting waiting lists for MRI, CT and ultrasound scans.
Photo: Unsplash / National Cancer Institute
Queues have remained stubbornly high in many places after ballooning during the first two years of the pandemic.
New Ministry of Health figures show 15 of the 20 DHBs are together spending $8.6m of their pandemic funding this year for extra scans.
The largest spend this way is by Wellington's Capital and Coast, of $2m, with a lot of that going on scans outsourced to private radiology clinics, though it has warned even this will not be enough to cut long outpatient wait times.
Waitematā and Counties Manukau are other big spenders.
At several other DHBs, queues are shorter and the spending is lower.
"Not all DHBs have included CT and MRI in their 2021-22 plans," the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
"Decisions on how to allocate the funding are made by individual DHBs and they will have considered the most appropriate approach.
"For example, insourcing by utilising spare capacity or increasing the number of sessions in-house through evening or weekend clinics.
"Outsourcing options include utilising private providers or possibly leasing facilities to increase capacity for diagnostic testing."
The money comes from Budget 2020's $282m over three years under the Covid-19 recovery plan.
Capital and Coast got $5.4m of that for 2021-22, out of which comes the scan spending, and Northland $5m, with $350,000 going on scanning.
Northland DHB surgical and support services general manager Mark McGinley said it was outsourcing some radiology, with the rest of the $5m going on outsourced surgery, extra outpatient clinics and extra endoscopy work.
"Given the level of disruption to planned activity over last 12 months and ongoing uncertainty, this funding has supported essential diagnostic access and procedures for Northland patients that would otherwise have continued to experience delays with their healthcare," McGinley said.
The DHBs got the funding based on population and targeted funding for "problem" areas, and had to come up with improvement action plans, the ministry said.