Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): I've been advised that as at 31 May this year, 35,522 are recorded as waiting longer than four months for a first specialist appointment, and 27,356 people are recorded as waiting longer than four months for treatment. For completeness, over the last three years, there have been increases and decreases in the planned-care waiting lists because of the way COVID-19 has affected the country. For example, after the response to the initial outbreak in 2020, we saw waiting times increase because of lockdowns. Then, as restrictions eased, waiting times reduced. Then, following the Delta and Omicron and outbreaks, waiting times increased. As hospitals have responded to the worst flu season in living memory this winter, waiting times have continued to increase. To address this issue, the planned-care task force, set up earlier this year, has provided initial advice on steps hospitals can take to reduce waiting lists. That initial advice is now reflected in a directive from the Chief Executive of Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand to district and regional directors last week, requiring immediate action to, amongst other things, identify the patients waiting longer than 12 months for their first specialist appointment; to make sure that they receive an appointment, in order of clinical priority, by 30 September this year; create significant capacity by eliminating unnecessary follow ups; actively use outsourced and out-placed theatre, endoscopy, and radiology capacity to maximise care over the winter period; and, where practical, offering patients the opportunity to receive their care outside their local district.