In a scathing critique, National’s Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti has lashed out at the government over the delay in publishing healthcare performance data.
The delay, which affects waitlist data from June, is now expected to be released only at the end of October, just after the general election on October 14.
“Data on waiting times for healthcare treatment used to be published every single month,” Reti stated.
“Now, despite hundreds of comms people and layers of bureaucracy, HealthNZ says it won’t be able to release the June data until the end of October.
Reti says the delay should raise eyebrows of those wanting to understand the current state of the health system.
“This is critical information that we rely on to provide more support where it is needed most as soon as possible.” Dr. Reti added.
“This is unacceptable.”
Year-long wait only in one area
The significance of the Labour Government’s health reforms such as the creation of Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, could also be assessed in the data, Reti argued.
Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall also came under fire, with Reti challenging a recent claim that no one is waiting longer than a year for surgery at Auckland Hospital.
“The sector is telling me that this is just for ophthalmology, and she needs to clarify this,” Reti said.
He called for transparency and accuracy in the minister’s statements, indicating the claims he sees as ambiguous undermine public trust.
“This is a minister in the same Labour Government that has overseen a 50,000 increase in the number of people waiting longer than four months to see a specialist compared to when National was last in government.” Reti said
“Last month, emergency department disruptions were reported at Oamaru, Christchurch, and Waikato hospitals,”
‘Show us the data’
“How can anyone possibly believe any of the minister’s claims that her government is making progress?” He added.
Challenging the Government’s track record, Reti stated, “Show us the data. Because so far, after six years of Labour, healthcare on every single metric has gone backwards.
National would introduce health targets to government that “will hold itself, providers and the system accountable to New Zealanders,” according to Reti.
Since February, Auckland hospitals have been using an algorithm to help determine patients’ positions on waitlists for non-urgent surgery. One of the weightings is priority for Māori and Pasifika patients.
The National and ACT parties have decried the policy as promoting racial discrimination and have pledged to reverse it.
Public health systems across the western world, which operate similar setups to Aotearoa, have seen increasing waitlists as a result of Covid-19, both in terms of increased sick people, but also spiralling waitlists resulting from elective surgeries put on hold due to lockdowns.
