A need to sort out acute demand for healthcare to help tame soaring waitlists

A Te Whatu Ora report, has found almost 60-thousand people were overdue a first specialist appointment as of September last year.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton says people who fall into the acute category, are too sick to wait.

She says people who are in the planned care queues either to see a specialist, or get the treatment deemed necessary, keep getting queue-jumped by people who need care now.