Wairarapa DHB Commended for Waiting List Blitz

Media Statement For Immediate Release,
tuesday 7 august 2006

“Wairarapa DHB Commended for Waiting List Blitz”

“The Wairarapa District Health Board is to be commended for its initiative in organising a blitz on waiting lists for first specialist assessments,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today. Subject to the specialist assessment the patients would then be placed on a waiting list for surgery.

“Organising this blitz is much more cost effective and clinically safer than dumping patients back with general practitioners who referred them to the public hospital in the first place.”

“Wairarapa has the advantage of being a small DHB in undertaking this blitz but where at all practical other DHBs should also adopt this approach.”

“The government needs to provide more leadership in encouraging this blitz approach rather than expecting DHBs to hide the problem through data cleansing,”concluded Mr Powell.

ENDS

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