What your DHB has planned

The Weekend Herald asked DHBs if they are or could consider prioritising Māori and Pacific patients for some elective procedures.

Confirmed

Capital & Coast DHB Hutt Valley DHB

Considering/could consider Auckland DHB

“Our current system privileges some groups already. Māori and Pasifika are not in that group usually. Covid gives us a big-bang opportunity to reset,” Auckland DHB chair Pat Snedden wrote in a document put to the board for debate that’s ongoing.

MidCentral DHB

“In our new COVID-19 world, MDHB is looking at how prioritising Māori and Pasifika people in our planned care scheduling would work while ensuring there are no unintended consequences. The aim of this work is to improve access to planned care for Māori and Pasifika people in our district, which aligns with our priority towards improved equity in healthcare.”

Wairarapa DHB

“Wairarapa District Health Board is actively looking at ways to ensure that Māori and Pacific patients have equitable access to planned services, including surgical interventions. Where there are clear inequities these will be addressed in a range of ways, which may include prioritising access to planned interventions. This approach will become clearer as we implement our strategy.”

Southern DHB

“We are exploring this concept to see whether something appropriate could be adopted in Southern, as well as continuing to address the underlying issues relating to early and equitable access to care.”

Bay of Plenty DHB

“BOPDHB is currently exploring the appropriateness of prioritising selection of Māori patients for surgical treatment in some specialties in relation to our backlog recovery approach.”

Taranaki DHB

“Māori health equity is a priority for Taranaki DHB, so access to elective surgery by Māori is something we are considering as a pro-equity approach. At this stage we are closely monitoring what other DHBs are doing and also looking at solutions specific to our Taranaki community.”

Nelson Marlborough DHB

“Nelson Marlborough Health is discussing its approach to prioritising some elective procedures for Māori and Pacific patients but has yet to finalise any plans.”

Northland DHB

Clinicians are implementing a trial in some areas, with work focussed on reducing the equity gap for Māori and Pacific.

“We are assessing the impact of making a conscious decision around prioritisation on the DHB's ability to cope (i.e. higher priority patients have shorter waiting times) and what impact it will have on improving equity.”

Unclear/wouldn’t say or too soon to say Waitematā DHB

“It has not yet been considered by the Waitematā DHB Board.”

Counties Manukau DHB

“Further details will be available in the future as work develops.”

Tairāwhiti DHB

“We are monitoring the effect of the pandemic on our planned care services...this includes understanding any different impact on parts of our community and actively working to minimise this in planning and delivering on services in the next six months. Increased capacity and new ways of working will help this work to be done to ensure equity in outcomes is maintained.”

Hawke’s Bay DHB

“HBDHB is considering the issue of surgical waiting lists and prioritisation but no decisions have been made.”

Not considering/ another approach Waikato DHB

“Initiatives we have taken include identifying Māori and Pacific patients whose treatment was delayed during the Covid-19 response and ensuring they are actively managed to move through the waiting list according to their acuity. Identifying Māori and Pacific patients in new referrals and working on streamlining their care.”

Canterbury DHB

“Currently, in Canterbury all patients are prioritised for elective surgery based on clinical need. The current approach includes actively managing prioritisation to ensure that the most vulnerable are not disadvantaged.”