Government Health Targets Show Progress in Stabilizing Care Delivery

The results for the three months leading up to 30 September indicate positive progress, with key health targets beginning to stabilize.

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has welcomed the latest data showing promising signs that the Government’s focus on health targets is helping to reverse the steep decline in healthcare delivery over the past five years. The results for the three months leading up to 30 September indicate positive progress, with key health targets beginning to stabilize.

Positive Outcomes in Cancer Care and Elective Treatments: Dr. Reti noted that the health system is delivering more care to New Zealanders than ever before. “Between July and September, we saw improvements in faster cancer treatments and shorter wait times for elective procedures,” said Dr. Reti. “This demonstrates that the health system is recovering and ramping up services to meet growing demand.”

The data revealed that nearly 4,550 New Zealanders received cancer treatment in the three-month period, with almost 4,000 of them starting their treatment within one month, showing significant gains in timely care. In addition, 87,890 elective treatments were carried out, including over 1,500 knee replacements and more than 1,700 hip replacements, highlighting the Government's commitment to reducing waiting times for critical elective procedures.

Challenges in Emergency Care and Immunisation: Despite these encouraging improvements, Dr. Reti acknowledged ongoing challenges, particularly in childhood immunisation rates and emergency department (ED) wait times, which are often exacerbated during the winter months. "We saw longer waits at EDs, but this was expected due to the high volume of people presenting with respiratory illnesses like the flu and whooping cough," he explained.

However, he pointed out that ED wait times were comparable to last year, despite a notable increase in hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases. In fact, there was an almost 7% increase in specialist assessments, with approximately 12,000 more assessments than during the same period last year, signaling that wait times for specialist care are stabilizing.

Immunisation Remains a Concern: One area that still requires significant attention is childhood immunisation rates, which have been affected by vaccine hesitancy, a trend that worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Reti stressed the need for continued efforts to improve immunisation coverage, particularly for babies. “We have invested $50 million in Māori health providers to support immunisation delivery, and we’re training more vaccinators, but there is still more to be done,” he said.

Commitment to Continued Improvements: Dr. Reti praised the hard work and dedication of healthcare workers across the country. “Thanks to their efforts, we are providing more care for Kiwis than ever before,” he said. "While there’s more work to do, I am encouraged by the overall trend of these results and look forward to further improvements in the coming year."

As the Government continues to focus on health targets, Dr. Reti remains hopeful that these positive trends will continue, ensuring better healthcare access and outcomes for New Zealanders.