The Aotearoa New Zealand faculty of the Australasian
College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM; the College) welcomes
the modest investments in health in the 2023 budget and
awaits further details on implementation.
ACEM
recently acknowledged Te Whatu Ora’s winter planas
pragmatic and practical but drew attention to staffing
deficits. Proper implementation of the $99 million allocated
to winter 2023 initiatives will be crucial in supporting
public health this winter and managing emergency department
(ED) presentations and hospital admissions.
ACEM’s
Manaaki
Mana strategy aims for equity in all Aotearoa New
Zealand EDs, and ACEM acknowledges the $20 million
allocated, to improve health equity for Māori and Pacific
peoples, as a step in the right direction.
A lack of
accessible, affordable, and coordinated primary and
community-based care over time, including access to
prescription medication, can contribute to pressures on EDs.
The College hopes that the $618.6 million investment towards
the removal of the $5 prescription fee will help reduce low
acuity presentations to ED, and ensure more people get the
care they need, faster.
However, these positive
measures will not address the main problem facing EDs.Bed
block – where patients get stuck in ED, while waiting to
move to their next place of care – is the root cause of ED
overcrowding and overly long waits for care. Solutions are
complex but must include investments in disability services,
hospital beds – including mental health – and in
residential aged care beds.
To that end, the College
welcomes the $863.6 million allocated to support tāngata
whaikaha and disabled people, and their whānau, carers and
supporters. Having robust, accessible systems and resources
in the community can help people get the care they need
locally and reduce pressures on EDs.
The $118m
allocated to “reduce waiting lists by freeing up inpatient
hospital beds”, if appropriately implemented, could
provide small improvements to bed block, but is nowhere near
the size of the investment needed to see real
change.
The College is calling for all parties
contesting the 2023 election to work with healthcare workers
on plans that lead to more staffed ED-accessible hospital
beds, and considerably more residential aged-care
beds.
ACEM has also called on the Government, Te Whatu
Ora, hospital administrators and all people involved in the
operations of healthcare and hospital systems to work with
healthcare workers to ensure emergency departments are
safer, for all staff, patients, and
whānau.
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