It would be extremely helpful if it was possible to obtain directly historical versions of data sets that are published annually, such as "Hospital surgical activity services delivered, grouped by elective and acute" or ESPI data. These data sets are currently only showing current information for each District Health Board. It would be far more useful if you could actually look at historical data (where available) and make a comparison

Having direct access to downloading historical data sets will allow people to make comparisons between different periods and allow researchers as well as the public to make informed decisions on whether certain aspects of hospital or DHB performance is improving or declining. The fact that this isn't readily available when it could be is a shame.