Some people are still spending too long waiting at emergency departments but the majority are facing shorter waits for cancer treatment, the Ministry of Health's (MOH) quarter one health target results show.
The results also showed improvements on the previous quarter for access to elective surgery, increased immunisation and better help for smokers to quit.
However, most district health boards (DHBs) did not meet the target for shorter stays in emergency departments and overall performed slightly worse than in the last quarter, which the ministry put down to winter seasonal factors.
Six DHBs did meet the target of 95 percent of patients admitted, discharged, or transferred from an Emergency Department within six hours. The national average this quarter was 85.6 percent down from 86.8 percent in the previous quarter.
There had also been slow progress on better diabetes and cardiovascular services.
The data showed 99.5 percent cancer patients received radiation treatment within the target six weeks, compared to 90 percent in the previous quarter. The target is for all patients to receive treatment within six weeks, decreasing to four weeks next year.
The national immunisation coverage rate for two-year-olds was 88 percent, putting DHBs on track to achieve the end-of-year target of 90 percent.
In elective surgery there were 35,978 elective surgical discharges, slightly more than the target of 35,616 discharges.
Ministry director-general of health Andrew Bridgman said many of the targets showed good progress this quarter, but DHBs were clear on their commitment to build on these results.
He was pleased with the DHBs continual commitment to improve targeted health services.
"The six health targets have enabled DHBs to focus their efforts and develop more innovative ways to deliver better services to their populations."
NZPA