Surgery figures disputed
A political row has broken out regarding the number of elective surgeries completed in the past year by Nelson Marlborough Health.
Nelson MP Nick Smith released figures showing the number of people getting elective surgery in the region had dropped 13 per cent to 4720 in the past year, the lowest in more than a decade.
He said the numbers were ‘‘shocking’’ and an indictment on the Government’s health policies.
But Health Minister David Clark said Ministry of Health figures showed 6980 surgeries were completed by the district health board in the year ended June.
Clark said National had focused on a ‘‘narrow measure of activity’’ for political reasons, ‘‘when the fact is our health services are delivering more care for more people than ever before’’.
But Smith stood by the figures, which were obtained through parliamentary written questions. He said there was an ongoing dispute over what was considered an elective procedure and what was not.
‘‘The reason I have confidence in the numbers is partly the influx I have had of constituents unable to get access and the frustration that has been expressed to me by a number of GPS saying it is harder than ever for patients being able to get surgery.’’
He said it was important to compare ‘‘like with like’’ and the health board could assist by releasing exact historic figures on the number of surgeries completed in recent years.
‘‘The main thing the public wants is openness and transparency from the district health boards and the Government so they know what health services are being delivered by the health dollar.’’
National has been critical of the Government for scrapping National Health Targets, six measures designed to monitor the performance of DHBS, including improved access to elective surgeries.
Clark said at the time the targets created ‘‘perverse incentives’’, particularly in relation to surgery. He said the wider ‘‘Planned Care’’ measure showed there were more acute surgeries and more non-admitted procedures being delivered by DHBS which meant more people were getting the care they needed.
Clark said Nelson Marlborough Health carried out 10,670 planned care interventions in the year ended June, up by 20 per cent on the year before.
It was a ‘‘very good performance given the disruption caused