Specialist referral clearly not coping

MEDIA RELEASE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015

Specialist referral clearly not coping

“There are more people wanting specialist visits than can be managed by District Health Boards (DHBs). The problem just won’t go away.” Arthritis New Zealand Chief Executive said today. She was referring to comments made this week that thousands of people were referred back to their GP having not seen a specialist While the figures referred to only ten District Health Board areas reports from around the country suggest these issues are a national concern.

“Incidence of osteoarthritis is increasing, and the age of diagnosis is dropping. This is resulting people being unable to work or in some cases manage day to day activities such as bathing and dressing, causing additional financial burdens.”

“While we acknowledge the increase in hip and knee replacements for people with osteoarthritis under funding increases for elective surgery the demand continues to outstrip the capacity of the DHBs.”
“There is much that can be done to reduce the health burden of arthritis. Programmes like tailored exercises, pain management, self management and physiotherapy have all been proven to help. While GPs are providing a great service, we call on them to look beyond their own resources to deliver programmes that will cut pain and ultimately help manage the demand.”

“Arthritis New Zealand has been delivering a variety of such programmes across the country for many years, and every day it sees the benefits they bring to people who are living with arthritis. Investment in programmes like this generates a long term dividend in the form of a reduced health burden.”

“We are hopeful that the budget funding promised for community programmes in osteoarthritis will start to flow into community services soon. The government has promised to increase resources in the community as well as in elective surgery. Now is the time to deliver,” Ms Kirby concluded.

ends

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