Waiting lists for a first specialist appointment have jumped by 46% in Counties Manukau.
By Stephen Forbes for Local Democracy Reporting
Te Whatu Ora figures to the end of December show 6637 people in Counties Manukau have been waiting four months or more for a first specialist appointment.
That’s up from 4546 at the same time in 2021 — a 46% increase.
Patients are expected to see a specialist within four months of being referred by their doctor. It is often the first step towards people getting much-needed treatment or surgery.
Many on the list are waiting for orthopaedics, with a number needing knee or hip replacements.
Meanwhile, 1569 people were waiting for non-acute elective surgery at the end of December — a 69% jump from the 927 recorded in December 2021.
Manukau resident Nooroa Tamarua has been waiting for knee replacement surgery since 2019 and has had to rely on crutches to walk for two years.
The early childhood teacher said hearing that people are waiting more than four months just for their first specialist appointment was a serious concern.
"That's shocking," she said.
Tamarua was expecting to have her operation at the start of the year, but she's now waiting to hear when she can get it done. She said she will have to continue to take painkillers until she has surgery.
National Party health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti said the increase in the waiting lists has been driven by a combination of workforce shortages and Te Whatu Ora's failure to meet its own targets.
"Te Whatu Ora has no plan and things are getting worse, not better," he said.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said our hospitals just don’t have the staff or the capacity to cope with patient numbers.
"So any blow-out in waiting times isn't surprising," Dalton said. "But a 46% increase [in patients waiting four months or more for a first specialist appointment] is large.
"I think that what it shows is there are people out there that are really suffering."
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners president Samantha Murton there can be a multitude of reasons for why a particular area is seeing a spike on waiting list numbers.
But she said when patients face delays in getting surgery or treatment it often leads to greater pressure on primary health care providers, who have to step into the breach.
"We do end up with extra work while people are waiting and I think it's even worse for the patients because their problems aren't being solved," Murton said.
But she said it's important GPs continue to refer patients when they need to see a specialist.
In May last year, the then Health Minister Andrew Little launched a planned care taskforce, led by Counties Manukau Health chief medical officer Andrew Connolly, to look at how to reduce waiting lists.
The taskforce delivered its findings in October, with 101 recommendations, including giving GPs greater abilities to diagnose patients, moving patients between regions for care and an increased use of the private sector.
Both Health Minister Ayesha Verrall and Te Whatu Ora were approached for comment.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
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