"Part of the future": Health Minister highlights private contracts as medical wait times improve

The Health Minister's claiming a win following improvements in elective treatment wait times. 

April to June data shows patients waiting fewer than four months for treatment increased about nine points to around 73%, compared to last year. 

MidCentral and Wairarapa have met the 2030 target of 95% this quarter.  

Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking there are more than 14,000 fewer people waiting over four months, since the peak of early 2025.  

He says they've used all available public and private system capacity to achieve this 41% reduction after waitlists ballooned under the previous Government. 

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