Reduced Waiting Times for Public Hospital Elective Services - Government Strategy

Reduced Waiting Times for Public Hospital Elective Services - Government Strategy - March 2000
Date of publication: March 2000

Executive Summary
The Government is commitment to reduced waiting times for elective services, and improved national consistency of access.

Elective services are important for improving peoples’ independence and ability to participate in the activities of daily living. Reasonable access to electives services is also essential to ensure public confidence in the public health system as a whole.

The Government intends to build forward on the significant progress that has been made, particularly over the last year, in improving access to elective services. Much more needs to be done. Patients in some parts of the country are still waiting too long in a state of significant ill health for access to hospital elective services.

This paper outlines the Government’s four key objectives and seven strategies for reducing waiting times and improving access to elective services progressively over the next three years. The four key objectives are to ensure:

all patients with a level of need which can be met within the resources (funding) available are provided with surgery within six months of assessment
delivery of a level of publicly funded service which is sufficient to ensure access to elective surgery before patients reach a state of unreasonable distress, ill health, and/or incapacity
national equity of access to electives - so that patients have similar access to elective services, regardless of where they live
a maximum waiting time of six months for first specialist assessment.

The seven strategies for achieving these objectives are:

Nationally consistent clinical assessment
Increase the supply of elective services
Give patients certainty
Improve the capability of public hospitals
Better liaison between primary and secondary sectors
Actively manage sector performance
Build public confidence

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