NZ's elective surgery crisis

News

4 months ago

By: Daphne Atkinson

How do we resolve our elective surgery crisis, including clearing the backlog of cases which have grown due to COVID? NZOA writes that more equitable funding for trauma care, more public-private partnerships and boosting training numbers of orthopaedic surgeons are just some of the solutions we should be actioning.

New Zealand Orthopaedic Association President Peter Robertson says the elective surgery crisis isn't news. We just need to take action.

The situation has been worsening for years and over successive governments. Now and again some money is lobbed in, enabling a small amount of catch-up – but this only addresses the symptoms, not the cause. Read more