DHB high in surgery rejection
Patients are more likely to be denied surgery in Taranaki than just about anywhere else in the country, new figures show.
Statistics released by the Ministry of Health show that 10.8 per cent of people who were referred by their GPsto the Taranaki DHB for surgery last December didn’t meet the threshold.
That means 162 out of 1500 patients didn’t get a first specialist assessment and were sent back to their GP.
The first specialist assessment is the referral that gets people into the hospital.
In the Hutt Valley the figure was 10.7 per cent and in the Bay of Plenty 11.8 per cent.
The figures are part of national research being carried out to discover how many people are unable to get on to waiting lists for surgery.
Taranaki DHB Chief Operating Officer Gillian Campbell said people shouldn’t think that they are less likely to be seen in Taranaki.
‘‘I don’t believe that. While we do have some patients that are referred that don’t meet the threshold for a first specialist assessment, it’s spread over a large number of specialities.
‘‘We continue to ensure we are seeing the patients in the most need and because of that, within our resources, some patients don’t meet the threshold to be seen.’’
The figures were comparable to the first lot of data that came out a few months ago, she said.
‘‘So I think it’s important there hasn’t been a change and we will use the information to see if there are any change in patterns.’’
Once people get into the hospital system, Taranaki DHB has a very low decline rate - 1.6 per cent - of patients who don’t make the cut once they have been assessed, Campbell said.
‘‘Between July – December 2015, 4123 people in Taranaki received surgery, compared to just 68 who were declined.’’
Taranaki DHB has delivered 14 per cent more surgeries than its target for elective surgeries for the 2015/2016 year, she said.
‘‘And it continues to provide a high level of access for the community. Our thresholds for accessing services have remained steady since 2012 and a recent review confirmed this. Over time, understanding more about patient flow will help us make improvements by identifying possible gaps in care, and where new models of care could be developed to improve access and equity of care.’’
The current surgical waitlist has 1535 patients and these people will be seen within the next four months, Campbell said.
‘‘Also, all DHBs are required to manage patient flow and capacity within the four month timeframe as guided by the Ministry of Health.
‘‘Therefore prioritisation is essential and with finite health resources, it is important that we prioritise these across specialities so we can best support those patients with the greatest level of need and potential benefit from assessment and treatment.’’
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said the information helped the Ministry better understand the reasons people were missing out.
‘‘This is information that has never been available before. It’s important for patients that the sector provides transparency, while DHBs and primary care will find this useful data to help them improve services.’’ Daniel Farr has a five-year plan for world surfing domination.
The talented 16-year-old wants to become world champ and has mapped out the road to get there.
His first step is competing in the ISA World Junior Surfing Games in Portugal in September as part of the New Zealand team.
It will be the fourth time Farr has represented his country - having competed at the same event in Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Cali- fornia in past years - and while his ’’goal for every comp is to win’’, a top-10 finish would be satisfying, he said.
Travelling around the world does not come cheap though, and Farr has set up a Sportfunder page to help him get to Portugal.
A number of sponsors have jumped on board and different items can be purchased on the page, with the money going towards the $6000 cost of getting him to Europe.
Following the surfing games Farr will return home to continue training in preparation for next year, when he will tackle the Australian junior series and selected World Surf League Qualifying Series (QS) events.
Chasing points and position on the QS is the big focus for the next five years, he said.
‘‘And hopefully I’ll make the CT [Championship Tour].’’
To attain his goal of competing on the World Surf League Championship Tour, Farr will need to finish in the top 10 (not including those who are already in the top 22 on the tour) on the QS.
While he admits it will be a hard task, seeing Ricardo Christie competing on the CT in 2015 was proof it could be done, Farr said.
‘‘It shows that with the right amount of commitment I can be up there with them.’’
Farr said he’d realised there were ’’about one million kids’’ just like him, all pursuing the professional surfing dream.
‘‘I know the need for commitment and focus,’’ he said.
‘‘To give it 100 per cent to get to my goal, which is to be world champ.’’