MEDIA RELEASE
8 March 2024
More funding for physiotherapy needed to meet health targets
Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) congratulates the government for putting in place health targets, as announced by Minister of Health Shane Reti today.
PNZ President Kirsten Davie says: “We know the health system is in crisis and many people are waiting too long to access care. Putting health targets back in place means that both the health workforce and patients know what the collective aims are.”
Davie particularly commends the new first specialist assessment and shorter wait times for treatment targets, where 95 per cent of patients are waiting less than four months for each.
“While I applaud the Government for implementing these health targets, they will put more pressure on the already stretched health system and workforce. I’m concerned the focus remains on traditional services when the Government needs a multidisciplinary approach to meet the targets.”
A programme funding musculoskeletal physiotherapists to take first specialist appointments for people with back, hip and knee problems before they see an orthopaedic surgeon has been rolled out nationally, but funding has not been confirmed beyond June 2024, despite evidence highlighting its effectiveness.
In the initial pilot which ran between August 2022 and July 2023 there was a 76 percent reduction in the number of people waiting more than a year for surgical treatment.
“Physiotherapy New Zealand is today calling on Minister Reti and the Government to expand the funding for physiotherapy treatment for New Zealanders on orthopaedic surgical waiting lists beyond June 2024.
“We need to use all of the health workforce to make it a better system for patients and meet the new health targets, and physiotherapists have a key role to play in this.”
ENDS
Page updated March 2024