Coast DHB surgery catchup in Christchurch
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Additional orthopaedic operations for West Coast residents have been carried out in private hospitals in Christchurch in the past month, as Greymouth hospital attempts to reduce waiting times exacerbated by Covid-19.
An update to the West Coast District Health Board advisory group said additional Ministry of Health funding had enabled additional hip and knee joint surgeries privately during May and into June, to reduce some of the longer waiting times at Te Nikau Hospital in Greymouth, particularly in orthopaedics.
Additional plastic surgery bookings had also been secured with the extra funding.
The waiting list for plastic surgery first specialist assessments had reduced from 68 patients in February to 14 in May.
The plastics surgical waiting list had benefited as well with 39 patients currently waiting, 26 of whom had surgery booked in June.
West Coast DHB general manager Philip Wheble said 35 major joint operations had been done off the West Coast.
While the extra plastic surgeries would significantly reduce the long wait time, for orthopaedics there would still be people on the waiting list over the time limit.
"The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown and distancing restrictions in August and September 2021, and again from February 2022 onward have influenced our results," Wheble said in an update.
"General surgery, paediatric surgery and urology are on year to date delivery targets, but there have been fewer elective cases able to be delivered in the disciplines of cardiothoracic, ear nose and throat, gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, plastics and vascular surgery."
The West Coast DHB had 165 patients waiting over 120 days for their first outpatient specialist assessment at the end of March -- 107 orthopaedic cases, along with plastics (22), urology (17), rheumatology (8), cardiology (6), respiratory (4) and general medicine (1).
Telehealth had been used wherever possible for specialist assessments.
There were 101 Coast patients waiting over 120 days from their first surgical assessment until surgical treatment, at the end of March, spread across orthopeadics (75), urology (10), plastics (8), dental surgery (5), opathalmology (2), and paediatric surgery (1).
Poll: Should we be giving the green light to new mining projects? 💰🌲
The Environmental Protection Authority announced this week that a proposed mine in Central Otago (near Cromwell) is about to enter its fast-track assessment process. A final decision could come within six months, and if it’s approved, construction might start as early as mid-2026.
We want to know: Should mining projects like this move ahead?
Keen to dig deeper? Mike White has the scoop.
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53.3% Yes
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46.7% No
A riddle to start the festive season 🌲🎁🌟
I'm a fruit. If you take away my first letter, I'm a crime. If you take away my first two letters, I'm an animal. If you take away my first and last letter, I'm a form of music. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
‘Tis the season to not get scammed ...
As Christmas gift shopping moves increasingly online, scammers are ramping up their activity across the country.
Dunedin’s Investigation Support Unit is seeing more and more people fall victim to scams and other fraudulent activity, particularly on Facebook Marketplace.
There are a few ways to avoid the scams and keep yourself safe doing online trades this holiday season, says Southern District Service Delivery Manager Senior Sergeant Dalton.
🔒 “A good first step when looking to purchase something on Marketplace is to check when the seller’s Facebook profile was created. If it’s very recent, there is a higher risk that they have just created this account for a one-off fake item.”
🔒 Another important step is to make sure the seller’s profile name and bank account name match up. “We’re seeing a lot of scammers claiming their bank account name is different because it belongs to their partner or family member - that’s a huge red flag."
🔒 “When you’re selling, never trust a screenshot anyone sends you showing that payment has been made. Check your own bank account to make sure a payment has gone through."
🔒 “Quite frankly, it’s best for all parties to agree to pay, or be paid, for items in cash and in-person. Ideally in a public place with CCTV coverage."
🔒 "If you’re buying a car, check Carjam.co.nz to see if it’s stolen or if there’s money owed on it.”
A reminder: Suspicious activity can be reported on 105
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