Capital & Coast DHB sub-contracting some surgery

7 May 2004

Capital & Coast DHB sub-contracting some cardiac surgery to Wakefield Hospital

Capital & Coast DHB has today confirmed that it has reached an agreement with Wakefield Hospital which will enable some patients to receive cardiac surgery at the private facility.

The move is in response to the fact some patients who require surgery are currently waiting longer than the six months maximum recommended by the Ministry of Health.

“Those people are entitled to treatment in a timely manner, and we are pleased to be able to work with Wakefield to see that happens,” C&C DHB chief executive Margot Mains says.

The two organisations have arrived at an agreed price, and in the first instance it is expected that eight patients will be treated at Wakefield.

“The first of those patients should go to Wakefield in the week starting 24 May,” Margot Mains says.

“Wakefield is gearing up to provide surgery to two ‘public’ heart patients a week. Depending on Wakefield’s capacity we hope to see eight patients treated within four to six weeks of when the first surgery occurs.

“We will be working with Wakefield to select the most suitable patients from our waiting list.

“A key requirement from our perspective is that those patients should be able to receive post-surgical care in the ICU at Wakefield, to avoid creating further pressure on the ICU beds at Wellington Hospital. As such, it is likely that the patients selected will require relatively low-risk bypass procedures.

“Each year Capital & Coast DHB provides around $160 million dollars of funding to the private sector. This funding allows organisations and health professionals in the private sector to provide a multitude of health and disability services to the public. The arrangement we have reached with Wakefield is yet another example of that principle in action,” Margot Mains says.

ENDS

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