Surgery waiting lists
Our public health system may have to tackle a mounting surgery backlog, and surgery waiting lists could grow exponentially if COVID-19 cases soar. Auckland's district health boards have the funding and people to handle the massive task of tackling the region's elective surgery backlog, Health Minister Andrew Little says. But not everyone shares his optimism. Under the national guidelines for alert level 4, all non-urgent care, including surgery and outpatient appointments, have been postponed. Auckland's DHBs have not been able to provide exact numbers on how many procedures have been cancelled at this stage. But in June 2020, it was [...]