Dunedin Hospital has been organising extra clinics to cope with a higher-than-usual number of people waiting months for general surgery assessments, but is becoming frustrated with people not attending their appointments.
The list of patients waiting more than six months for general surgery assessments is larger than for other specialties, but there did not appear to be any particular reason, surgery service manager Helen Williams said.
During each of the three months to the end of June, about 50 people had been waiting more than the six months specified by the Ministry of Health.
A year earlier, the corresponding numbers ranged from 18 to 27.
In June, the number of people waiting more than six months for their first specialist appointment in the 19 other specialties ranged from 0 to 11.
Ms Williams said the numbers fluctuated when staff took leave.
In addition, when new clinicians were employed - as had happened recently - they could take some time to come up to speed.
Extra clinics were organised, but they did not help if people did not attend or did not meet the referral criteria.
She cited the case of a recent extra clinic for those who had been on the waiting list long-term.
Half the patients did not show up, and several others were found to have no surgical problem.
The latest report to the board's hospital advisory committee showed the overall rate of non-attendance for a first specialist appointment was 6.3% in June this year, up from 5.9% in June last year.
The board's target is 5%.
Ms Williams said if people had been waiting a long time for an appointment, their condition might have been resolved or they might have sought private treatment, but they should let the hospital know.
Text messages were being used by some departments to remind people about appointments, and the recent introduction of a new patient information management system would allow the practice to be widened.
Ms Williams said it was a very effective way of reminding people, which she found less invasive than a phone call.
In additon to having people attend appointments, it was important that the referrals received contained all of the right information, she said.
The board's July newsletter to general practitioners issued revised general surgery guidelines, noting the hospital was receiving general surgery referrals which did not meet the Ministry of Health guidelines.
It reminded them some conditions, including varicose veins, hernias, breast reduction, and gastric bypass surgery, rarely qualified.
Ms Williams said there were always exceptions, giving the example of varicose veins, which would not be treated for cosmetic purposes, but could be treated if there were complications from ulcers.
The newsletter also advised of the waiting times for a variety of private procedures, which Ms Williams said was in the interests of ensuring patients had full information.
If they knew that they did not meet the access threshold or would have to wait a long time in the public system, some patients might prefer to have their procedure done privately.
