- By Simeon Brown, Member of Parliament for Pakuranga
Shorter waits, faster treatment, and more timely access to care are benefiting patients across New Zealand, with the latest quarterly results for April to June showing clear improvements.
After years of decline, healthcare is improving steadily under this Government.
We’re putting patients first and refocusing our health system to ensure all New Zealanders can access timely, quality healthcare when they need it.
These quarterly results mark the first annual milestone toward our 2030 targets. Key improvements from April to June include:
- Faster cancer treatment: 86.3 per cent of patients started treatment within 31 days, up from 83.5 per cent last year, supported by the Government’s $604 million Pharmac boost delivering 33 new cancer medicines.
- Childhood immunisations: 82 per cent of children fully immunised by age two, up from 76.5 per cent last year.
- Shorter stays in emergency departments: 73.9 per cent of patients admitted, treated or discharged within six hours, up from 71.2 per cent last year, despite increased attendances – meaning our doctors and nurses are delivering more care than ever and getting patients seen faster.
- Shorter waits for elective treatment and first specialist assessments (FSAs): Patients waiting less than four months increased by 6.6 percentage points for elective treatment and 3.8 for FSAs.
Our Government’s Elective Boost added more than 16,000 procedures, including hips, knees, and cataracts, from February to June through partnering with the private sector, helping to reduce waiting times for elective treatments.
FSAs were delivered at 104 per cent of the plan to June, meaning more patients are being seen than planned.
The latest figures show encouraging progress in ensuring more patients receive their FSA and elective procedure within four months.
These gains mean more patients are being seen sooner, receiving faster diagnoses, better outcomes, and timely access to the surgery they need.
The latest results show the health system is turning a corner after the sharp decline that followed the removal of health targets by the previous Government.
We thank our doctors, nurses, and other frontline staff whose daily commitment makes this improvement possible.
Waitlists are falling, cancer patients are being treated faster with more medicines available, and more children are being protected from preventable disease.
Every improvement means more Kiwis getting back to work, returning to everyday life, and regaining their quality of life.
There’s still more work to do. Too many people are still waiting too long, and we won’t stop until every New Zealander has timely access to care.
With a record $30 billion annual investment, we’re rebuilding the system around patients, holding it accountable, and driving better outcomes.
