The Health Minister says DHBs need to think outside the square to clear the post-covid backlog of planned care.
A one-off cash injection of $282 million will cover an estimated 153,000 surgeries, scans and specialist appointments.
David Clark says they want to move as quickly as possible, but it'll require a creative solution.
“There is social distancing and increased cleaning in hospitals, which makes it a more challenging environment to work in for the foreseeable future.”
Almost $4 billion is also being rolled out to DHBs over the next four years.
Clark says he expects DHBs to improve their financial performance, but it will take time.
“It's no secret that many DHBs are running significant deficits. This funding boost won’t fix it overnight, it will take years to rebuild our hospitals and health services.”
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