Our intentions: Looking at equitable access to planned care

“Planned care” means medical or surgical care for people who do not need to be treated right away. When demand for planned care is greater than the public health system can accommodate, people are put on waiting lists.

Demand for planned care has been increasing, waiting lists for treatment have been getting longer, and there are inequities in access to treatment. People living in rural areas, disabled people, Māori people, and Pacific people can wait longer for treatment than other New Zealanders. This is partly because of inconsistencies in the ways that patients are prioritised for treatment.

To help address this, Health New Zealand has been working to ensure that patients are being prioritised for treatment in ways that are nationally consistent.

What we are focusing on

We will look at how well Health New Zealand is supporting equitable access to treatment for New Zealanders going through the planned care system. We will focus on its work to ensure that the approaches used to prioritise patients for treatment are being applied in ways that are consistent throughout the country.

To do this, we will assess how well Health New Zealand understands where there are inequities in people’s access to treatment. We will look at how Health New Zealand supports clinicians and others to achieve greater consistency in how patients are prioritised.

We will also assess how well Health New Zealand monitors and evaluates its work to understand the effectiveness of their efforts and what changes in their approach may be needed. This includes how well Health New Zealand reports to decision-makers, Parliament, and the public about access to treatment, and whether this effectively supports decision-making and discussion about the health needs of New Zealanders.

The difference we expect to make

Our work will provide Parliament and the public with an independent view on how well Health New Zealand is supporting efforts to ensure that access to treatment is equitable.

We will highlight good practice and, if appropriate, suggest improvements that Health New Zealand could make.

We expect to complete this work in the second quarter of 2025.

Please use the feedback form on the right if you’d like to speak to a staff member about this performance audit, make a suggestion, or ask a question.