Is there a current request for proposal from Te Whatū Ora to contract opthamology services, and if so, in which regions?

Answer

I am advised that as part of our focus on putting patients first and ensuring all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare, Health New Zealand is conducting a Request for Proposal process for ophthalmology services for all four regions. This is part of Health New Zealand's policy of outsourcing procedures, an approach that has been used under successive governments, to support better value for money and making full use of available capacity across the health system to ensure more patients are seen and treated sooner.