7. Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Hunua) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What progress has been made in providing improved access to surgical specialist assessments over the last three years?
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) Link to this
First specialist assessments are the gateway to elective surgery and most diagnostic tests. I am pleased to advise the House that over the last 3 years the number of patients benefiting from first surgical specialist assessments has increased by 24,000. This compares with an increase of just over 2,000 over the term of the previous Government, which meant that access in real terms was cut.
Many patients are referred to a specialist in order to get a diagnostic test or scan, like endoscopy or magnetic resonance imaging, and this, of course, involves waiting to see the specialist, who then refers the patient on to the test or scan. That is one of the reasons why, under the Government’s “Better, sooner, more convenient care” policy in primary care, we are progressively giving more general practitioners the ability to refer patients directly for a test or scan, without having to go to the hospital to see the specialist first. This, of course, means less waiting and faster service, and it also frees up specialist time to deal with other patients.