Kiwis are waiting in pain for elective surgeries because of delays caused by the Alert Level 4 shutdown, according to the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association.
Group president Peter Robinson says elective surgeries are often "bumped" for urgent and emergency surgeries, with the backlog worsened by the Covid-19 lockdown.
"We have been urging action on the decline of capacity to do elective surgery for several years, but getting very little traction. We can’t wait for years for changes to take place," he said in a statement today.
He says there needs to be a Government-mandated partnership between DHBs and private hospitals.
That way, spare hospital theatre capacity could be used for elective surgeries for public patients stuck on the waiting list, according to Dr Robinson.
"Increasing capacity in the public sector over the long term, and optimising relationships with the private sectors in the immediate term, will result in optimal productivity when managing public patients waiting for elective orthopaedic surgery."
According to the association, around 350,000 New Zealanders are estimated to have some form of elective surgery each year.
SHARE ME