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RS08
THE NEW ZEALAND MOBILE SURGICAL SERVICE: 5 YEARS ON THE ROAD
Author(s) -
Yule A. G.,
Gowland S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2007.04128_8.x
Subject(s) - medicine , redress , rural area , service (business) , specialty , health services , government (linguistics) , rural health , family medicine , environmental health , business , marketing , art , population , literature , pathology , linguistics , philosophy
Purpose Out of the ashes of a radically pruned Health service the “Surgical Bus” (SB) has risen to redress some of the loss of access to surgery suffered by rural New Zealand (NZ). The mobile surgical service has also contributed towards several of the other stated goals of provision of equitable access healthcare to rural NZ. This study examines the performance of the SB over its first 5 years. Methodology Mobile Surgical Services (MSS) has prospectively collected data on the SB. Assessment has been made of number and type of procedure, length of stay and complications. Services for children, services for Maori, social benefits, upskilling for rural staff, training gains through telepresence surgery and cost were also reviewed. Results 6500 procedures have been performed in the 5 year period 1 March 2002 to 28 February 2007. 6% of patients had complications with 2% having infection. Children (15 yrs of age or younger) made up 40% of patients treated and 26% were Maori. The SB has traveled 50,000 Km/year, has visited 21 rural centres and has had 9 different specialty services contributing. There have been 145 Telepresence sessions undertaken. Conclusion The SB has significantly improved specialist surgical services to many rural areas in NZ over the last 5 years. This is in line with Government health policy of equitable access.