Elective Services

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Elective Services

Elective Services are hospital services for people who do not need immediate medical treatment. If you are very ill and require emergency treatment you will be treated with minimal delay.

This section contains information about how Bay of Plenty District Health Board are managing Elective Services including access to services, numbers waiting and other Elective Services information.

What can I expect?

The following link click here will explain the process for managing your care if you need Elective Services at a public hospital. We will endeavour to provide a service that gives:-

Clarity – You will receive information about assessment and treatment options and whether or not they will be available to you.
Timeliness – You will know within 10 days whether you will receive access to assessment or treatment. If assessment or treatment is offered to you, you will receive it within the next six months.
Fairness – Your level of need will be assessed in comparison with other people with similar conditions.

Attention Referrers

Please ensure all correspondence/referrals are addressed to:

Postal: Referral Receipt Centre, BOPDHB, Private Bag 12024, Tauranga 3142
Fax: 07 578 9571 Phone: 0800 333 477
(unless the referral is concerning a Skin Lesion condition*)

*Skin Lesion Referrals

Skin Lesion referrals need to be sent in the first instance to the relevant PHO Contact details are:

Postal: WBoP PHO, Skin Surgery Service, PO Box 13225, Tauranga 3141
Fax: 07 577 3191 Phone: 07 577 3190

Postal: EBoP PHA, Skin Surgery Service, PO Box 664, Whakatane 3158
Fax: 07 306 2399 Phone: 07 306 2300

Keeping your appointment

If you have received a letter from Bay of Plenty District Health Board advising you have an appointment, and you would like to confirm your appointment or let us know that you are unable to attend for any reason, please email us or call us on the contact details below:

Telephone: 0800 333 477 ( 7 days a week / answering machine service).
Email address: confirmations@bopdhb.govt.nz

Remember when emailing or leaving a message please include the following details:-

Hospital number
Full Name
Contact telephone number, in case we have any queries
Date of your appointment
Time of your appointment and, if known
Doctor/Specialist that you are seeing

Failure to attend appointments – Did Not Attend (DNA) Policy

BOPDHB are committed to ensuring that the best possible service is provided to all patients that require an appointment /treatment within Bay of Plenty District Health Board Hospitals.

Patient non attendance adversely impacts on BOPDHB and its patients, taking valuable appointments/treatment slots away from another patient who could have attended. This contributes to longer wait times for all concerned.

Therefore to utilise our resources to maximum benefit, we have established a Did Not Attend (DNA) policy that allows us to manage patients that Do Not Attend or Cancel their appointments.

It is therefore vital that you contact us as early as possible when you receive a letter requesting action from you.

We check our demographic data as far as we possibly can, however it is your responsibility to contact us if you move so that we have your current residential and postal details on file at all times.

More details – Click DNA Policy in Brief

Patient Contact details

It is in the interests of each patient to inform the hospital of any change of postal address, residential address or telephone number. If we are unable to contact you when your name comes forward for an appointment, your name will be removed from our records.

Travel Assistance Scheme

The National Travel Assistance Scheme provides financial assistance to people who are referred by their hospital specialist to see another hospital specialist, and need to travel long distances or travel frequently. To check eligibility criteria and to obtain registration or claim forms go to www.moh.govt.nz/travelassistance

Acceptance Criteria Guidelines and Waiting Times