NZPSHA welcomes Budget commitment

The continued commitment in today’s budget to reducing long waiting lists for elective surgery is welcomed by the New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association (NZPSHA).

The Government is to fund an additional 24,000 planned care treatments in 2026/27. It is likely that a significant number of these additional procedures will be secured under outsourcing arrangements with private hospitals.

NZPSHA Chief Executive Chris Roberts says there has been a gradual increase in outsourcing volumes over the last decade, recognising that private hospitals specialise in high quality, planned care.

“Combined, New Zealand’s private hospitals are performing over 20,000 surgical procedures every month. Around 3,000 of these patients each month have been outsourced by Health New Zealand. These patients receive the same high level of care as self-funded patients and those funded by health insurance or ACC.”

Health New Zealand has a national panel framework for outsourcing and new five-year plus five-year agreements are currently being put in place. These identify which private hospitals can provide what surgical services. Annual statements of work are then agreed with each provider.

Chris says private hospitals are not seeking to replace public hospitals but are extremely efficient providers of planned care. “Public hospitals have to provide an acute service, meaning that planned surgeries can be deferred when more urgent acute cases present. This doesn’t happen in the private hospital setting. Every patient treated in a private hospital frees up critical resources for a patient to be seen in the public system.”

“A patient who has been waiting 12 months or longer on a waiting list, or has had their operation in the public system delayed several times, will be very happy to get their surgery in a private hospital as a result of this latest government commitment.”

Private hospitals and clinics have been an essential part of New Zealand’s health system for more than 100 years and are located across the country, from Whangarei to Invercargill. Private hospitals are not just for those with health insurance, and they are much more than a ‘back-stop’ for public hospitals when they get overwhelmed.

To deliver the best possible outcomes for New Zealanders, the many parts of our highly complex health system need to be aligned, collaborating and working efficiently. Private hospitals are already making an essential contribution and have the capacity to offer even more.

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