‘Taskforce’ for backlog

Health leaders and the minister, Andrew Little, have vowed to cut through ‘‘bureaucracy’’ as they attempt to claw back the massive backlog of patients waiting for planned healthcare.

But Little’s plan for a work force headed by a ‘‘Mr Fix-it’’ has been slammed by some healthcare leaders who say it is no more than a Band-aid or new coat of paint for a system that was already in crisis before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has delayed healthcare and restricted some Kiwis’ access to health services. Little said the backlog of people who had been waiting more than four months to access planned, non-acute treatment had grown to 27,000 – up from 8000 in February 2020, before the pandemic.

The list of people waiting four months for specialist consultations had also grown, to 36,000 people as of March, Little said. This was double what it was pre-pandemic.

To address the backlog, Little has brought in a ‘‘taskforce’’ led by ‘‘health fix-it man’’ Andrew Connolly. They have been asked to present a plan to end the backlog by September.