Māori health and private hospitals

A recent report on Māori health and the impact of outsourcing, prepared for the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, addresses important issues involving equity of access and the rights and protections afforded to Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

There are legitimate questions to be asked about the experience of Māori in the health system. 
Unfortunately, some of the key premises used in the report to conclude the impact of outsourcing elective surgery on Māori are quite simply wrong.

The researcher complains about the inadequacy of data available on the private hospital sector. Yet, NZPSHA was not approached. We have detailed data going back a decade.

The report claims that the Government is outsourcing as many elective procedures as possible to the private sector. This is not correct. In the past year, 20 per cent of elective procedures funded by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora were performed in private hospitals. The year before, it was 21 per cent, and from 2019 to 2023, it varied between 14 per cent and 20 per cent.

Eight out of 10 elective surgeries in New Zealand are performed in public hospitals. Private hospitals are generally used when public facilities are overwhelmed, and patients may wait many months or even years for an operation. They receive the patients allocated to them by the public hospital and clinicians, so they have no influence on the demographic mix, including ethnicity.

The report claims that private hospitals are not evenly distributed throughout the country. This is incorrect. On a per-population basis, private surgical capacity is evenly spread across the four districts used by Te Whatu Ora, with private hospitals located from Whangārei to Invercargill.

The report notes that there are no private hospitals owned by Māori. But there are opportunities and at least two iwi are in discussions about investment in new private hospital facilities. Partnerships between Māori and private health service providers are available.

Private hospitals and clinics have been an essential part of New Zealand’s health system for more than 100 years. Private providers are not seeking the privatisation of the health system and support a properly funded and resourced public health service with equitable access for all.

NZPSHA members are an available resource with the relevant capability to work effectively alongside the public health sector to get patients – including Māori – the care they need in a timely manner.