Orthopaedic surgeon in operating theatre with replacement hip stem. (File photo) Photo: AFP
The government wants private hospitals to do more elective surgery - will this help ease pressure on the public system, or undermine it?
Last Friday, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced a major overhaul of the public health system, including reinstating a board and "partnering" with the private sector.
He says Health NZ will invest $50m between now and the end of June, to reduce the backlog of people waiting for elective surgeries.
Long term, the minister says he wants as much planned care as possible to be delivered in partnership with the private sector, freeing public hospitals for acute needs, with longer terms, multi-year agreements with the private sector.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists' Executive Director Sarah Dalton says public hospital medical specialists are already leaving, or reducing their hours, in favour of private practice, and Mr Brown's plan will only make it worse.
Kathryn also talks with the President of the Private Surgical Hospitals Association Blair Roxborough.
