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Hospital surgical activity
The information shown on these web pages is only about patients receiving publicly funded surgical treatment. You need to read the explanation to understand the limitations of the data provided.
Choose the information you wish to see
For each DHB, five tables of information are available in pdf format — three that tell you about the publicly funded services received by people living in your DHB area (‘DHB of Domicile’), and two that tell you about the publicly funded services delivered by hospitals in your DHB area (‘DHB of Service’).
To understand these tables, it is important to read the explanatory information first.
What services did people living in your DHB area receive?
The first three tables give information that tells you about the services received by people living in your DHB area (DHB of Domicile). Some of these services may have been provided by hospitals outside your DHB area.
Table 1: Patient Discharge and Case-weight Information
Table 1 shows the number of people in your area who were discharged from surgical specialties. It shows both the number of patients discharged and the case weights attributed to those patients.
Case weights measure the relative complexity of the treatment given to each patient. For example, a cataract operation will receive a case weight of approximately 0.5, while a hip replacement will receive 4 case weights. This difference reflects the resources needed for each operation, in terms of theatre time, number of days in hospital, etc.
Table 2: Acute and Elective Patient Discharge Volumes
Table 2 shows the number of people in your DHB area who were discharged from surgical specialties. The information is split into acute and elective patients. An acute patient is one who requires immediate assessment or treatment. An elective patient requires less urgent treatment and whose surgery (eg, hip replacement) can be scheduled for a future date.
Table 3: Standardised Discharge Ratios
Table 3 shows the level of certain procedures provided to people in your DHB area compared to DHBs in other parts of New Zealand. The ratio has been standardised — in other words, it takes into account the particular sex, age, ethnicity and social deprivation mix of your DHB’s population.
If all DHBs were providing services at the same level, they would all be at 1. A rate higher than 1 indicates that the DHB is providing more than the average rate in New Zealand, and a rate lower than 1 indicates that the DHB is providing less than the average rate in New Zealand.
Intervention rate analysis does not necessarily indicate what the right rate might be, but compares individual DHBs with the national mean, taking DHB population demographics into account.
What services did your DHB provide?
The next two tables give information that tells you about the services delivered by hospitals in your DHB area (DHB of Service). Some of the people who received these services may live outside your DHB area.
Table 4: Patient Discharge and Case-weight Information
Table 4 shows the number of people who were treated by surgical specialties in your DHB area. It shows both the number of patients discharged and the case weights attributed to those patients.
Case weights measure the relative complexity of the treatment given to each patient. For example, a cataract operation will receive a case weight of approximately 0.5, while a hip replacement will receive 4 case weights. This difference reflects the resources needed for each operation, in terms of theatre time, number of days in hospital, etc.
Table 5: Acute and Elective Patient Discharge Volumes
Table 5 shows the number of people who were treated by surgical specialties in your DHB area. The information is split into acute and elective patients. An acute patient is one who requires immediate assessment or treatment. An elective patient requires less urgent treatment and whose surgery (eg, hip replacement) can be scheduled for a future date.
Last updated: 10-Aug-07
URL: www.nzhis.govt.nz/stats/surgical/tables.html