Wellingtonians waiting for elective surgery may find they've been juggled on the list

Ethnicity will now be taken into account when determining a patient's clinical urgency, with Maori and Pasifika a top priority.

It's an attempt by Capital and Coast DHB to better balance the health system.

Maori pandemic group, Te Ropu Whakakaupapa's Dr Rawiri Jansen says Maori are twice as likely to spend a full year on the waiting list than non-Maori.

He says it's right across the whole system - from how we look after the young, pregnant, old, dying, and everything in between.