“ACT would cut the bureaucracy in our health system and put people first,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“New Zealanders deserve to have world class healthcare. People in this country shouldn’t be languishing on waiting lists or living with chronic pain and illness.

“To cut the wasteful spending and put people back at the centre of the system, we reduce the number of DHBs from 20 to six, with four in the North Island and two in the South Island. This will save approximately $50m per year in overhead costs which can be put towards patient care.

“We would implement a national fully integrated IT platform for healthcare procurement and the supply chain. There are many IT and procurement conflicts between too many DHB’s which is jeopardizing patient care. We can do better, and quickly.

“We’d also have a greater collaboration between public and private hospitals to reduce costs, reduce elective surgery waitlists and deliver better health outcomes.

“Ministry of Health statistics show a backlog for elective surgery of 350,000 patients. A third of those are considered of mid-level urgency. These aren’t just numbers, they’re real people who are experiencing pain and discomfort. This can impact on a person’s ability to work and go about their daily lives.

“ACT would publicly subsidise more of the common elective surgeries in private hospitals through competitive tender. This would utilise spare private hospital operating capacity, reduce public waitlists and free up public hospital operating theatres for urgent and major surgeries.”

“Amidst the current global pandemic, it’s more clear than ever that New Zealanders need access to good quality healthcare and mental healthcare so they can lead long and healthy lives. ACT will deliver this as affordably as possible.”

ACT will:

  • Provide Government subsidies of Private Hospital Elective Surgeries
  • Improve Primary Healthcare in rural New Zealand
  • Better integration of Primary, Secondary and Community healthcare
  • Create a national fully integrated IT platform
  • Provide Provision and Leaseback of Public Hospitals
  • Create a Publicly funded mental health corporation, Mental Health and Addictions NZ
  • Carry out an independent review of PHARMAC

Our policy can be found here