New data shows it is safe to have surgery in Aotearoa New Zealand
The Perioperative Mortality Review Committee has released two new tools today, examining the safety of surgery in Aotearoa New Zealand and giving health care professionals access to highly detailed information about surgical outcomes.
The perioperative mortality explorer is an interactive dashboard, which gives health professionals and researchers access to detailed data about surgical outcomes. It can be used to compare populations (for example, by district, age group and ethnicity) to understand the reasons people may die after surgery.
A specific equity section highlights differences in mortality rates for different groups.
Dr Dick Ongley, anaesthetist and chair of the Perioperative Mortality Review Committee, says it is exciting for clinicians to have access to this data.
‘We hope that by improving access to the information we publish, it will lead to better surgical outcomes for people across the country.’
Alongside the explorer, the Perioperative Mortality Review Committee has released in-depth information for the public about undergoing surgery in Aotearoa New Zealand. Presented as an infographic (and an accessible text version), it summarises information about surgeries completed in 2021, including the biggest risk factors, and covers surgery planned in advance (elective) and emergency surgery. Health care professionals can use the infographic to reassure patients about the safety of their upcoming surgery.
Dr Ongley says there are benefits and risks to every surgery, but our data confirms that having surgery in Aotearoa New Zealand is as safe as having surgery in countries like Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
There are slightly higher rates of death for older people, males who undergo emergency surgery and for Māori and Pacific peoples.
The reasons behind why Māori and Pacific peoples experience inequities are varied and complex, but include things such as access to best-practice care, socioeconomic deprivation and underlying health conditions.
‘Our goal is to give clinicians access to more information about what is happening in their region, which they can use to make changes or set up quality improvement initiatives to improve surgical outcomes and reduce inequities.’
The infographic and dashboard will be updated annually and there are plans to add an automated surveillance function in 2023.
‘The increased surveillance will allow us to identify and act on emerging issues, to prevent unnecessary deaths from surgery and keep our patients safe,’ says Dr Ongley.
The Perioperative Mortality Review Committee reviews deaths related to surgery and anaesthesia that occur within 30 days of an operation. It makes recommendations about areas of care that can be more closely examined to make surgery safer for patients.
For more information please see the frequently asked questions document on our website.
Kua puta i te Komiti Arotake Matenga ngā taputapu hou e rua, e tirotiro ana i te haumaru o te hāparapara i Aotearoa me te tuku ki ngā mātanga tauwhiro hauora i tētahi huarahi ki ētahi mōhiohio tino āmiki mō ngā putanga hāparapara.
Ko te Tūhura[1] he papatohu pāhekoheko e whai huarahi ai ngā mātanga hauora me ngā kairangahau ki ngā raraunga mō ngā putanga hāparapara. Ka meatia te papatohu hei whakataurite i ngā taupori (arā, mā te takiwā, te pakeke me te iwi) kia mārama ai nā te aha ngā tāngata i mate ai whaimuri i te hāparapara.
He wāhanga mana taurite anō hei kite i ngā rerekētanga i ngā tatau matenga o tēnā momo rōpū me tēnā momo rōpū.
E mea mai ana a Tākuta Dick Ongley, he rata whakarehu, te heamana o te Kōmiti Arotake Matenga, he tino hiamo te whai wāhi a ngā mātanga ki tēnei raraunga.
‘E tūmanako ana mātou mā te whakapai ake i te whai wāhi nei ki te raraunga ka tāngia e mātou ka pai ake ngā putanga hāparapara mā ngā tāngata katoa puta noa i te motu.’
I te taha o Tūhura kua tukua e te Komiti Arotake Mate he mōhiohio hōhonu mā te iwi mō te hāparapara i Aotearoa. Ka whakaaturia nei hei pārongo whakairoiro (hei tuhituhi hoki) e whakarāpopoto ana i ngā mōhiohio mō ngā hāparapara i oti te mahi i te tau 2021, tae atu ki ngā āhuatanga tūraru, ngā kōrero hoki mō ngā hāparapara kua whakarite wawetia me ngā hāparapara ohotata. Ka taea e ngā mātanga hauora te pārongo whakairoiro te whakamahi kia whakaahurua ngā tūroro mō te haumarutanga o ā rātou hāparapara e heke mai ana.
Ka mea mai a Tākuta Ongley, he hua, he tūraru ki tēnā hāparapara ki tēnā hāparapara, engari hei tā ā mātou raraunga he rite tonu te haumaru o te hāparapara i Aotearoa ki te hāparapara ki ngā whenua pērā i a Ahitereiria, a Peretānia me Amerika.
He paku nui atu te tatau o ngā mate mō ngā kaumātua, mō ngā tāne e mahi i te hāparapara ohotata, mō te iwi Māori me te iwi Pasifika.
Ko ngā take e wheako ana te iwi Māori me te iwi Pasifika i te manarite-kore, he take rerekē, he take matahuhua, pērā i te āheinga kia whiwhi i te tauwhiro hauora tino pai rawa atu, te pakukore ohapori me ngā momo mate.
‘Ko tā mātou whāinga kia tino whai wāhi ngā mātanga ki ngā mōhiohio mō ngā momo kaupapa e whakahaeretia ana i ō rātou rohe, mā konei ka taea te whakamahi hei whakarerekē i ngā mahi, hei whakarite rānei i ngā kaupapa whakapai kounga hei whakapiki i ngā putanga hāparapara me te whakaiti i ngā manarite-kore.’
Ka whakahoungia te pārongo whakairoiro me te papatohu i ia te tau, i ia te tau, ā, he whakaaro hoki kia tāpirihia he āheinga mātai auroa i tērā tau 2023.
‘Mā te pikinga o te mātaitanga ka tautohu me te urupare atu ki ngā take ka puea ake mai, ka mutu, ka aukati i ngā matenga kore noa iho mai i te hāparapara kia noho haumaru hoki ā mātou tūroro,’ ko tā tākuta Ongley.
Ka arotakengia e te Komiti Arotake Matenga ngā matenga ā-hāparapara, ā-rehunga hoki i puta mai nō roto i ngā rā 30 o tētahi hāparapara. Ka meatia e te Komiti he whakatau mō ngā wāhanga tauwhiro e taea ai te āta tirotiro kia haumaru ake ai te hāparapara mā ngā tūroro.
Mō ētahi atu mōhiohio tirohia ngā pātai ka auau te pātai i tō mātou pae ipurangi.
- Tūhura means to explore in this release refers to the perioperative mortality explorer tool.