Patients pay for summer surgery shutdowns

act-new-zealand

Tue Dec 23 2003 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Patients pay for summer surgery shutdowns

Tuesday, 23 December 2003, 10:01 am
Press Release: ACT New Zealand

Thousands of seriously ill patients are in for a summer of pain and uncertainty as surgery around the country is being delayed at cash-strapped hospitals, says National's Health spokeswoman Dr Lynda Scott.

Auckland District Health Board is postponing 1389 operations, Waitemata DHB reports hospitals will be shut for over a month, Lakes DHB for 26 days, and both the Nelson Marlborough DHB and the Southland DHB will shutdown elective surgery for over 40 days.

"DHBs, under orders from the Government to cut their deficits, are closing theatres for longer this summer, delaying operations for patients in serious need of surgery," says Dr Scott.

"Labour has already dumped tens of thousands of patients from surgery waiting lists this year, leaving too many people suffering unnecessarily.

"You can't take a summer holiday from illness and pain.

"At Christmas time we should be celebrating life, yet people are having their quality of life put at risk by an ineffective health infrastructure and continued surgery delays," says Dr Scott.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from ACT New Zealand on InfoPages.