Health Minister Dr Shane Reti insists the government's five new health targets will lift the performance of the entire system.
In response to questions from journalists following the announcement of the targets at Hutt Hospital on Thursday, Reti said there would be rigorous monitoring to ensure hospitals did not "game" the system.
Focusing on health the targets did not mean other areas would be neglected, he said.
"What it does do is it drag the whole system along - so for instance, discharge lounges would benefit someone in maternity. It helps reduce delays and some of the inefficient mechanisms we have in the health system."
The targets would all be met within existing baseline funding, he claimed.
The high-level targets - first announced six months ago - were:
- faster cancer treatment - 90 percent of patients receiving cancer management within 31 days of the decision to treat
- improved immunisation for kids - 95 percent of children fully immunised at 24 months of age
- shorter stays in emergency departments - 95 percent of patients admitted, discharged, or transferred from an ED within six hours
- shorter wait times for first specialist assessment (FSA) - 95 percent of patients waiting less than four months for an FSA
- shorter wait times for treatment - 95 percent of patients waiting less than four months for elective treatment.
Reti said without clear targets there would be "performance slips", accusing the previous government of "badly neglecting" these areas.
"We need to focus resources, attention and accountability to improve performance."
In order to deliver on these targets, the government was planning to establish more community infusion centres so patients could access their chemotherapy closer to home, expand the number of beds and operating theatres in public hospitals, and make greater use of private hospital capacity.
"We will make sure that there is a separation between acute care, which people need in a hurry, and planned care, such as a scheduled hip operation, so operating theatres are operating more efficiently and there will be fewer cancellations.
"There will also be new radiography machines for cancer treatment, expanded access to stem cell transplantation in main centres and more focus on patients who have waited more than a year to get them assessed or treated."
The minister said Dr Lester Levy, the new commissioner of Health New Zealand (who replaced its board in July) had assured him "these targets can and will be achieved within current resources and will come with regular and transparent reporting".
"We're already investing more in health than any government in New Zealand's history - around $30 billion a year. With that investment, we are also turning our backs on wasteful spending which doesn't demonstrate better outcomes.
"Every dollar spent on health is precious, however dollar signs and numbers on a page won't be the only way New Zealanders will see change in the health system."
