Surgeries back on in level 2
The demand for a doctor’s appointment and elective surgery is back up to pre lockdown levels as health workers deal with a backlog of patients.
Taranaki DHB’s chief operating officer Gillian Campbell said 192 elective procedures were postponed during the Covid-19 crisis, which put waiting lists under extra pressure.
The move to alert level 2 allowed an increase in the number of patients receiving treatment, but not all postponed surgeries and procedures had been rescheduled. ‘‘We like to give patients certainty and recognise the stress that occurs if patients are repeatedly cancelled and rebooked, so [we] needed to see how the Covid-19 pandemic progressed in New Zealand,’’ she said.
‘‘Our planning has been focussed on ensuring those with urgent health needs received treatment and to be able to return to full capacity as soon as able within the Covid-19 response/ levels framework.’’
General manager of Primary Health Care Limited, Bevan Bayne, said patient visits had significantly picked up at New Plymouth’s Phoenix Urgent Care, after a reduced number of patients during Covid-19 alert levels 3 and 4.
‘‘We are now seeing increased demand at Phoenix in level 2, building up close to pre-lockdown levels,’’ he said.
An online survey of patients suggested up to 70 per cent of patients had put off health care needs during levels 3 and 4, causing patient numbers at Phoenix to reduce by 85 per cent.
‘‘The practice, like many others, was challenged to balance the competing demands of fixed costs, job security, and small workloads,’’ Bayne said.
Pinnacle Health medical director Dr Jo Scott-Jones said during levels 3 and 4, medical centres owned by Pinnacle carried out a third of the consultations they usually would have done.
It had caused a backlog of appointments for doctors, but he said they had been adjusting to a ‘‘new normal.’’
People who needed regular check-ups for high risk medical issues were being given priority as they worked through the back log.
‘‘We are focusing on people who are high risk,’’ he said.
He encouraged people who needed an appointment to opt for a consultation online or over the phone to help ease high numbers of patients at the clinics.