Increase in elective surgery a welcome relief

Private Hospitals say the increase in elective surgery funding will go some way to relieving the suffering of many New Zealanders who don’t currently meet the criteria for an operation.

The NZ Private Surgical Hospital’s Association says the budget will help address a growing unmet need.

Association President Dr Ian England welcomes the Government’s focus on elective surgery and an extra $96 Million for an additional 4000 surgeries a year.

“An increase in funding translates directly into more operations and more people getting the surgery they need.

“The private hospital system performs 164,000 operations a year – about half of all elective surgery in New Zealand.”

“The public and private health sectors already work closely together,” says ‘Dr England, “and there is opportunity to work even closer and make the best use of all capacity and efficient use of funding across the whole sector.”

Dr England says New Zealand has a great public health system that performs very well by international standards.

“The case load of public hospitals can be complex and the needs of its patients are very broad.”

“The reality is that elective surgery can often be performed faster and cheaper in private hospitals which can take a lot pf pressure off the public system so it can focus on acute cases and other areas of need.

“If we are going to meet the ever growing health needs of a growing and ageing population, then we must use all health resources – public and private,” says Dr England. “Private Hospitals have a lot to offer and we want to be part of the solution.”

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