Post code lottery still alive and well in health sector, latest figures show

Patients at the very top and very bottom of the country are still waiting longer than many others for healthcare.

Health NZ has released the March to June results for the five targets which measure how quickly people are treated for cancer, seen in emergency departments, get elective surgery and see a specialist for the first time, as well as how many children are immunised.

Nationally, all five targets had improved on the year before.

However, a dig into individual regions shows the post code lottery is alive and well.

When it came to planned care, every district showed at least small improvements in the wait for elective treatment on the previous quarter, and all but Lakes improved on first specialist appointments.

In Wairarapa and Mid Central, 95 percent of patients received their elective treatment within four months.

But in the Northland and Southern districts, more than 40 percent of patients were waiting longer than that.

Those districts also struggled in the first specialist appointment measure, with more than 40 percent of patients not able to see a specialist for the first time in the target of four months.

In South Canterbury, 96 percent of patients were seen and 85 percent in Lakes - hitting the target.

EDs divided

Half of the country's emergency departments showed an improvement in wait times from the last quarter, but half declined.

The figures are from March to June so do not reflect the August and September flu peak where many reported being overwhelmed by patients.

Palmerston North Hospital patients faced the biggest waits in the latest stats, with just 55 percent of patients through the department within six hours, a drop on the last quarter.

Capital and Coast came in second to last with 63 percent, although that was an improvement on the last quarter.

ED patients in West Coast, South Canterbury and Tai Rāwhiti fared best in the latest stats, with 90 percent seen within six hours.

Childhood immunisation

There continued to be large variations in the percentage of children fully immunised by their second birthday. While thirteen districts showed improvements, seven declined.

Children in Tai Rāwhiti and Northland were the least immunised in the country, with about 66 percent meeting the measure.

Capital and Coast were the most immunised at about 90 percent, with Southern Canterbury, Auckland and Counties Manukau just behind in the high 80s.

Health NZ said year on year the national rate had improved 1.7 percent.

Cancer treatment

Results also varied for cancer patients within a month of a decision to treat - but the variations were less than other measures, with cancer often prioritised by hospitals.

Waikato topped the chart, with 96 percent of patients seen in time - well over the government's target of 90 percent.

Wairarapa, Lakes, Taranaki, Tai Rāwhiti, Bay of Plenty and South Canterbury were also in the 90s.

The lowest number was in the West Coast, with about 78 percent meeting the target.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said he was pleased to see the progress made under his government but more needed to be done.

The statistics showed that thousands of people a day were being seen in emergency departments or getting their surgery on time, he said.

"I'm not discounting the things that go wrong or the challenges that do exist but I do think for the vast majority of people, the experience they have is a positive one," he said.

That was thanks to the quality and standard of care delivered by front-line workers, he said.

But Labour's Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the targets released did not paint the true picture of what was happening in health.

"The health system does not exist as five lines on Simeon Brown's spreadsheet. The situation across the health system is of tremendous pressure. People waiting in hospital corridors, nurses on strike because they say staffing is unsafe and people not being able to get on waitlists in the first place."

Even though the statistics did not cover the past three months, this winter was the worst she had seen in the hospital and she was shocked Brown would claim a success in health delivery.

The improved elective surgery targets may not tell the whole story - because people may not be able to get to see a specialist or get on a list, Verrall said.