Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman
Minister of Health
25 August 2016 Media Statement

More Kiwis getting First Specialist Assessments

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says around one in ten New Zealanders received a First Specialist Assessment (FSA) in 2015/16.

“Increasing access to specialist care remains a priority for this Government. The answer to increased demand is to do more,” says Dr Coleman.

“The latest data shows 551,013 patients received a medical or surgical FSA in 2015/16, a rise of almost 10,000 on the previous financial year.

“That’s an increase of around 119,000 patients over the last eight years - a rise of 28 per cent compared to the 432,047 FSAs carried out in 2008/2009.”

In the last financial year 229,450 patients received a medical FSA compared to 170,822 in 2008/09. 321,563 patients received a surgical FSA in the last financial year compared to 261,225 in 2008/09.

“This uplift has been accompanied by a continuing increase in the number of people receiving elective surgery,” says Dr Coleman.

“The number of patients receiving elective surgery increased from 117,951 in 2007/08 to 171,608 in 2015/16. That’s over 53,500 more surgeries over the last eight years - a 45 per cent increase.”

First Specialist Assessments are defined into two categories:
• Surgical FSAs are for patients whose condition is managed by a surgeon, for example - orthopaedics, general surgery, ophthalmology.
• Medical FSAs are for patients whose condition is managed by a physician, for example - cardiology, respiratory, renal.

The National Patient Flow latest data shows that between October and December 2015, there were 161,881 referrals for a FSA. 87 per cent of those referrals were accepted. The number of patients sent back to their GP for care as they did not meet the threshold may rise to around 10 to 15 per cent.

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