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Hip and knee replacement operations set to double in New Zealand
New project will cost NSD 30 million this year and will allow an increase of more than 4500 operations annually.
A new orthopaedics project in New Zealand will double the number of major hip and knee replacement operations performed in public hospitals in four years, according to a media statement from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health.
The number of operations will jump from approximately 4650 each year to 9300, according to preliminary estimates. Prime Minister Helen Clark and Health Minister Annette King said that the increase in the number of operations will provide pain relief for thousands of New Zealanders who previously were not eligible for a hip or knee replacement.
High level of pain
Major joint replacements are the only treatment option for patients with high levels of immobility and crippling pain, they said in the press release. Such operations dramatically improve the quality of life by relieving pain and restoring independence.
Clark and King said the project will cost NSD 30 million in 2004 to 2005, but will reach up to NSD 70 million per year in four years. At that point the number of major joint operations will double the amount currently performed.
Elective orthopaedic operations in New Zealand have tended to lag behind other surgeries and similar operations in comparable countries. According to the news release, the average intervention rate for major joint replacements in the public sector in New Zealand is 1.2 per 1000 people, compared to 1.9 in Australia, 2.3 in the United Kingdom and 2.6 in Sweden.
e have listened to a call for action the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association made last year,Clark and King said in the press release. The government is committed to providing fair access to strong public health services, and that is what this project will achieve.
The project will be crucial in allowing some people to get back to work. People in need of hip or knee replacements are often severely limited in their ability to work or live a normal life because of the pain and disability they suffer.
Waiting lists increasing
Jean-Claude Theis, MD, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and clinical director of the Musculoskeletal Clinical Practice Group at Dunedin School of Medicine, agreed that this is a positive step forward for New Zealand orthopaedics, but there are still obstacles to overcome.
Waiting lists for joint replacements have been increasing to the point that they have become unmanageable,he told Orthopaedics Today. There is a huge backlog of patients, and the threshold for access to surgery will remain high for some years until the backlog has cleared.
The other issue is that extra resources like operating theater time, anaesthetists and surgeons have to be made available to increase the input. There is an ongoing problem with acute cases blocking theater time, as well as a lack of elective beds, which constantly leads to cancellations of elective cases.
According to the news release, more than half the population has radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in at least one joint.
Longer-term, preventative measures, like better diet and more exercise, will help reduce the impact of major joint disease, but they won't help those people who require major joint replacements now, King and Clark said.