The number of people in Counties Manukau waiting more than four months for non-acute surgery has grown by 251 percent over the past year.
National Party health spokesman Dr Shane Reti says the Government was warned last year by DHBs about the workforce shortages in the health system and it is now adding to delays in non-acute elective surgery. Photo: Supplied / LDR
Figures released by Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ show there were 1184 people affected at the end of June, up from just 337 at the same time last year.
"And of those on the Counties Manukau waiting list, 109 of them have been waiting more than 12 months for surgery," National Party health spokesman Dr Shane Reti said.
Reti said the Government was warned last year by DHBs about the workforce shortages in the health system and the impact it could have on frontline health services and it is now adding to delays in non-acute elective surgery.
"New Zealanders deserve a plan to decrease the surgical waiting list, the specialist waiting list and the emergency room waiting time - not another task force or a new plot for Shortland St.
"Despite being warned by the health sector in July last year, Minister Little has spent money on bureaucratic health reforms instead of on people. He has failed at his core responsibility of ensuring New Zealanders get timely access to health services."
He conceded that Covid-19 has had a major impact on waiting list numbers, but said Health Minister Andrew Little has to be accountable for the problem.
"But the Government has been too focused on its health reforms."
Minister of Health Andrew Little announced the creation of a taskforce in May to address the country's elective surgery waiting lists. He said at the time that the number of people waiting longer than four months for treatment had increased because of Covid-19. Photo: RNZ / Craig McCulloch
Little announced the creation of a taskforce in May to address the country's elective surgery waiting lists, which would be led by then Counties Manukau DHB chief medical officer Dr Andrew Connolly.
He said at the time that the number of people waiting longer than four months for treatment had more than tripled as a result of Covid-19.
Little said the taskforce would ensure hospitals took whatever short-term measures they could to reduce waiting times and would be responsible for delivering a national plan by September.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) executive director Sarah Dalton said there aren't any easy quick fixes to deal with the country's backlog in elective surgery.
"This is an expensive and complicated problem and it's going to take time to fix it. And things will probably get worse before they get better."
And she said workforce shortages in the health sector are only adding fuel to the fire.
"There's no escaping the fact we are haemorrhaging experienced nurses," Dalton said.
But she said having so many patients waiting for operations can have wider consequences.
"The risk to patients having to wait longer for surgery is the potential for them to become acutely unwell."
Dalton said it also puts greater stress on families who may have to care for them, as well as a greater burden on GPs in the community who have to help patients before they can make it to surgery.
Health Minister Andrew Little and Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau were both approached for comment for this story.
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