Republishing of 12 National Performance Reporting Metrics

This follows an earlier publication error for one measure – Shorter Stays in Emergency Departments (SSED) – which led us to take a precautionary step to remove all metrics to check their accuracy.

The information is now publicly available again here.

Across the measures, it is important to note that there are minor shifts in reported numbers; this is normal due to data constantly being updated as patient records are processed.

For two measures – Emergency Departments Admissions and Emergency Department Presentations – our checking process identified underlying issues with data flow from Southern, West Coast, Waikato, and Counties Manukau.

The checking process identified some data being entered by these hospitals was not flowing through to the national data collection system. This has been rectified in these published metrics.

Our review has now validated the data for those areas, giving us confidence in what is now published.

While there have been some gaps in the flow of data feeding into the national data set over the reporting period this has not impacted on the day-to-day care and services provided by hospitals.

Operational decisions around patient care and people management are taken from real-time data as often these decisions have to be made with far more urgency than the monthly performance metrics.

The performance metrics republished today are used for historical reporting and organisational performance management but are just some of the metrics used, so are not relied on in isolation.

The checking process has been a valuable exercise, highlighting that there have been weaknesses in data validation over recent months as the system has been through fundamental change, including role transfers to Te Whatu Ora from the Ministry of health.

We regret that these issues have occurred and, building on the assurance work we have done, are now focused on resetting our data workflows as a single organisation. This includes a review being led by Dr Dale Bramley, who is due to report his findings to the Chief Executive on 14 April.

The findings of Dr Bramley’s review will be critical to ensuring ongoing confidence in published data. We understand how important data integrity is to trust and confidence in the health system.

The performance data republished today shows a health system working tirelessly to meet the ongoing demand. We know that as we head into winter, seasonal illness and operational challenges will put pressure on health and disability providers.

While vaccination remains the best defence against getting seriously ill if you do get sick this winter, you can access care in your community, close to your home when you need it.

You can get clinical advice from Healthline, your local doctor who may also be able to see you via telehealth, your pharmacy or your local health provider.