Source: Radio New Zealand
The senior doctors’ union says increasing numbers of patients cannot see a specialist despite being referred by their GP. Gorodenkoff Productions OU / 123RF
The senior doctors’ union says increasing numbers of patients cannot see a specialist despite being referred by their GP.
A report by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) found one in five referrals were declined last year across several districts but said the extent of the problem nationally is not known because Health NZ does not collate the information.
The report compared data from seven districts and found declined referrals increased from 101,962 in 2023 to 110,916 in 2024 and an estimated 112,348 in 2025.
It said if the trend remained consistent across all 19 districts it would mean 255,000 people were refused first specialist appointments (FSAs) every year.
ASMS senior policy and research advisor Virginia Mills blamed chronic public health workforce shortages and increases in acute admissions.
“Health funding is not responding to population changes and unmet need,” she said.
The report called for Health NZ to do a better job of collating and publishing critical data.
In a statement Health NZ said it agreed too many people were waiting too long for care.
But executive national director, clinical, Dr Richard Sullivan said the number of patients waiting for first specialist assessments had dropped from the peak of 212,000 in February last year, and last month was down to just over 198,000 people.
Dr Richard Sullivan. RNZ / Calvin Samuel
At the same time the number of assessments had gone up. Last year there were almost 700,000, an increase from the 673,000 in 2023.
“Access to FSAs and elective treatment is based on clinical prioritisation, so patients with the greatest need and highest risk are seen first,” he said.
Decisions to decline first specialist appointment referrals were not made lightly and always prioritised the patient’s safety and wellbeing.
When a referral was returned to the referrer (usually the patient’s doctor), it was a clinical decision and an explanation of the decision and recommended next steps were provided. A re-referral could occur if the patient’s condition changed, did not improve, or new information became available.
He said by the end of the year Health NZ expected to have validated data available for reporting on declined referrals. This dataset would give a national picture on declined referrals allowing the agency to identify any trends and opportunities for improvements.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand