Race-based healthcare in Northland

According to the NZ Herald, the Government’s controversial health tool that prioritises Māori and Pasifika patients for surgeries has been used in Northland since May, despite Te Whatu Ora Tai telling the Northern Advocate on the 21st of June that it is not.

What’s referred to as the “equity adjuster waitlist policy” gives priority to Māori and Pasifika ahead of European New Zealanders and other ethnicities in urology and orthopaedic healthcare in Northland since May 2023.

The adjuster aims to reduce inequity in the system by using an algorithm to prioritise patients for surgery according to five areas; clinical priority, time spent on the waiting list, geographic isolation, ethnicity (specifically Māori or Pacific people) and deprivation level. 

References:

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health inequity as “systematic differences in the health status of different population groups.”  See here >>> 

NZ Herald article, 17 July 2023, "Controversial ethnicity-based health policy used in Northland despite Government saying it wouldn’t be". See here >>>