Health Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed Health New Zealand's release of second quarter results, showing improvements in three out of five health targets.
According to the data, wait times in emergency departments have decreased, with 72.1% of patients being admitted or discharged within six hours, an improvement from 67.5% in the previous quarter. Access to faster cancer care has also improved, with 85.9% of patients receiving treatment within 31 days.
However, more work is needed to address growing waitlists for elective treatment and first specialist assessments, which grew significantly under the previous government. The data shows that while Health New Zealand delivered more treatments in 2024 than in previous years, more people are being added to waitlists than those receiving treatment or assessments.
To tackle this issue, Minister Brown has announced the "elective boost," a partnership with private hospitals to maximise operating capacity and expand procedures. He also highlighted initiatives such as AI diabetes retinal screening and Kaitaia's complete cataract care pathway aimed at reducing specialist assessment delays and easing pressure on hospitals.
The Government is investing a record $30 billion each year into the health system, with the goal of delivering more for patients. By measuring what matters and holding the system accountable, Minister Brown says they are putting patients first and supporting frontline healthcare workers to deliver quality care in a timely manner.