Hawke's Bay DHB provides more elective services

Hawke’s Bay District Health Board provides more elective services than ever before

Hawke’s Bay District Health Board (HBDHB) chief operating officer, Mr Ray Lind, says HBDHB staff are to be congratulated for their hard work which has resulted in 13% more elective surgery and 13,882 people having a first appointment to see a specialist in the past year.

“This is a huge achievement,” he said. “We have delivered to our contracts with the Ministry of Health – and over the past three years these contracts have increased by 21%. We are now providing more elective services than ever before including 111 extra hip and knee joint replacements and 75 extra cataract operations.

“Our staff and theatres are working to full capacity providing acute (emergency) care and surgery 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, to be able to provide such high levels of elective (non-urgent) services is a real achievement.

Elective services include appointments with specialist doctors at an outpatient clinic as well as surgery and other diagnostic procedures. To access elective services people are referred to the DHB by their GP.

The system operates to ensure those in the greatest need are prioritised to receive care as soon as possible. The Ministry of Health guidelines state that no one who has been accepted for assessment or treatment should have to wait more than six months to see a specialist or have surgery.

Mr Lind said he was proud of the team who had worked hard to ensure Hawke’s Bay people now had a better understanding about what is and isn’t available in the public system. “

“HBDHB staff have worked incredibly hard to meet the Ministry of Health’s guidelines regarding waiting times for elective services,” Mr Lind said.

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