National's promising to cut hospital waiting times for surgery to under four months and increase the number of elective surgeries if re-elected.
National unveiled its health policy on Thursday with a pledge to get patients into surgery within six months by mid-2012, and within four months by December 2014.
It says it will cut wait times for specialist appointments to within four months by the end of 2014, and reduce emergency department wait times.
Health spokesman Tony Ryall says National will spend $12 million annually to increase the number of operations by at least 4000 a year.
"Our plan means more patients will get elective surgery, faster."
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The party's also promising faster access to cancer treatment and diagnostic tests.
Mr Ryall says National will extend the four-week maximum waiting time target for cancer radiation treatment to include chemotherapy.
It will also enable more GPs to refer patients for tests like MRIs and CT scans without waiting to see a hospital specialist.
National will spend up to $4 million to develop monitoring and reporting programmes to support the new waiting times goal.
The party is also promising to create dedicated stroke units in hospitals, add an extra 80 training places in medical schools, and expand the voluntary bonding scheme to include more specialties and regions.
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