Hospital waiting lists

Posted by: Inform's Conor Sligo on 19 May 2007

Why have health insurance? Most people have several reasons - the ability to choose a time and place for treatment appeals to many of us, as does the simple peace of mind of knowing that private health care bills will be taken care of. But ask most people the number one thing that made them start a health insurance plan and you'll get one answer: public hospital waiting lists.

NZ has a public health system that offers excellent care - the quality is good and the people involved are dedicated and skilled. The problem - the time it can take to see them.

If you have an emergency, for example an accident and then an unplanned admission to a hospital, you will likely get the help you need at a public hospital. In these circumstances, more often than not, the system works.

If the condition you have is not an emergency - and doesn't need immediate surgery (a hysterectomy or the removal of a cancerous tumour can be examples of non immediate surgery) you will probably have to get in line. Often diagnostic procedures are included here. These are tests which aim to find out exactly what's wrong with you - for example removal and testing of a suspicious lump. Would you be happy to wait in line to have that checked?

And people do have to wait in line. As an example, 32,512 patients (as at 31 December 2002) were waiting more than 6 months for their first specialist appointment. That means that a doctor had told those people that they needed assessment by a specialist, but in the public system, they'd have to wait. The problem here is simple - if demand for treatment is greater than supply (as it often is), resources may not available to give these people rapid testing.

Adding to this is that the specialist assessment is often only the start; actual treatment for their condition could be another waiting list - months or even years away. Which is part of the reason that people do die while waiting in line for care.

Or, there's "active review". People who can't be given a date for surgery within six months of their initial assessment won't go on a surgical waiting list. They will be referred back to their GP for "active review" - which means they'll have go through the whole process again.