Hon Simeon Brown
Minister of Health

New data highlights that while the Government’s commitment to health targets continues to stabilise the health system, increased service delivery is required to get on top of waitlists, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“Ensuring all Kiwis have access to timely, quality healthcare is a priority for the Government. I am encouraged by Health New Zealand’s release of second quarter 2024/25 results today, which show improvements in three of the five health targets,” Mr Brown says.

“Wait times in emergency departments continue to reduce, with 72.1 per cent of patients being admitted or discharged within six hours, an improvement from 67.4 per cent in the previous quarter.

“Access to faster cancer care continues to improve, with 85.9 per cent of patients receiving treatment within 31 days – just 0.1 per cent away from the yearly milestone.

“And more children are now fully immunised, with 77 per cent of two-year-olds being immunised in the second quarter of this year, up from 75.7 per cent in the previous quarter.”

The data also confirms that more work is needed to get on top of waitlists for those waiting over four months for elective treatment and first specialist assessments, which grew by 2,500 per cent and 6,400 per cent respectively under the previous government.

“While performance declined for the elective treatment and first specialist assessment targets, more was delivered by Health New Zealand in 2024, with more Kiwis having their elective surgeries and first specialist assessments than previous years.

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