Braemar Charitable Trust is excited to be funding a project to be undertaken by Ross Lawrenson, Prof of Population Health, Waikato Medical Research Centre, University of Waikato and his team, to research unmet surgical need in our community. Currently approximately 18% of referrals to general surgery at Waikato Hospital are sent back to the GP without been seen. Many of these patients are younger patients, there is little data on what happens to these patients and to patients who have been seen by their GP but have not been referred, because they do not meet the hospital guidelines.
The research will identify:
- the current need for surgical services of patients who have been referred to the public system, who have been refused care and do not have private insurance,
- what the common surgical conditions are that are seen in general practice and for which there appears to be genuine unmet need for surgical services.
Trust Manager Paula Baker said "this research will really help inform Braemar Charitable Trust's Charitable Cases programme, will identify areas where we can collaborate with others to meet unmet need and inform our Frances Young Memorial Scholarship programme, that provides funding to further training, education and professional development in health related disciplines"
