STOP THE PRIVATISATION OF EYE HEALTH SERVICES IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND

 Aotearoa New Zealand is at a turning point in the future of its public health system. The decision to outsource ophthalmology services is not a routine administrative step. It is a significant policy shift away from public provision.

Under current proposals, private providers may take over core hospital functions, including diagnostics, treatment, planned eye surgeries, and the management of patient pathways and waitlists. This is not simply supporting the public system. It risks replacing it.

Public hospitals are also the primary training ground for future ophthalmologists and other specialists. Ophthalmology, like other medical disciplines, relies on an apprenticeship-style model in which trainees gain supervised experience within public hospital services. Shifting core services into private settings risks undermining this training pipeline, weakening the development of the future specialist workforce and further entrenching long-term capacity issues.

Privatisation undermines public healthcare. Outsourcing core services shifts control away from public hospitals and into private hands, changing incentives, accountability, and the long-term direction of the system.

It will worsen workforce shortages. International evidence shows outsourcing draws clinicians into private practice, weakening the public system rather than fixing capacity issues. At the same time, removing services from public hospitals reduces opportunities for training and mentorship, further constraining workforce development.

Equity will suffer. Māori, Pacific, disabled, rural, and low-income communities already face barriers to care. Private delivery models are not designed to meet equity obligations or uphold culturally safe care grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

There has been no meaningful consultation. Decisions of this scale require transparent public engagement and genuine partnership with communities, health workers, and iwi Māori. This has not occurred. There has been no adequate consultation and no meaningful engagement with Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.

It sets a dangerous precedent. Normalising private delivery in ophthalmology opens the door to broader privatisation across the health system.

Health is a right, not a market commodity. A strong, publicly delivered health system is essential to ensuring universal and equitable access to care.

We also call on all political parties, in this election year, to publicly commit to halting the privatisation of ophthalmology services and to protecting a fully publicly delivered health system for Aotearoa New Zealand.

This is about more than eye care. It is about the future of public healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand. If left unchecked, this shift will accelerate privatisation and reshape the system in ways that are difficult to reverse — including undermining the training of future specialists and the sustainability of the public workforce.

We stand for a health system that serves everyone, not private interests.