4.3 Elective Services
In New Zealand, elective services are operations such as
hip and knee joint replacements and cataract surgery, for
conditions which are not immediately life threatening.
With public funding for hospital services capped by central
government, elective services are one area where hospitals
in New Zealand have always formally rationed care, with
waiting lists used to ‘park’ patients who cannot be treated
immediately. Long waiting times and lists for elective
services have been a key concern in the New Zealand
health system since the 1960s [20], with patients viewing
the lists as a key indicator of an under-funded health system
and governments focused on waiting times and lists as
a result of the significant attention paid to them.