10. CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What representations, if any, has he received from the chair of the Whanganui District Health Board regarding recent public concerns over health services in the Wanganui area, and when did he receive these representations?
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) Link to this
I am in regular contact with district health board chairs, and I have spoken to Dr O’Connor several times in the past month. He is, in my view, a hard-working and dedicated chair and he makes sure that the issues facing the Whanganui District Health Board are well understood by the Government.
What representations has the chair of the Whanganui District Health Board made in respect of the 365 Wanganui elderly who had home care cruelly cut from them from 4 September, who in some cases have been receiving home care for 14 years, and who are unable to manage vacuuming, washing, and household chores, or move around as freely as he can; and what, if anything does the Minister intend to do about that situation?
The member may be aware that the Government has increased funding for home-based support services very substantially indeed—well over 100 percent since the change of Government. What is happening in Wanganui is that the demand has appeared to rise very quickly indeed. One figure I saw showed the demand rising by 22 percent in 12 months. Something is not right here; the way the funding is being allocated—it seems to me—needs to be reviewed.
Tariana TuriaDoes the Minister recall his statement made in the House yesterday: “I stand by my comment that today there are comprehensive paediatric services in Wanganui.”, and how does he reconcile that with the fact that today, Thursday, 31 August, there is no paediatrician at Wanganui Hospital, and between now and 18 September there will be 5 days when Wanganui Hospital is without a paediatrician, which will affect the safety of children with chronic and serious conditions?
Yes, I am aware there is no paediatrician at Wanganui today, and that there are several days in the forthcoming month when there will also be—[ Interruption] I said “comprehensive” coverage. Let me give an indication of what I mean. Since the paediatrician went on leave, of all of the children who have accessed a paediatrician in Wanganui, somewhere over 90 percent have accessed a paediatrician in Wanganui itself. That is to say, I think five, or perhaps six, children have travelled to Palmerston North in that time, and that is really no different from what happens between the paediatric services in Wanganui and Palmerston North, ordinarily.
What representations has the chair made in respect of the lack of specialist care for Wanganui’s acquired brain injury sufferers—those Wanganui people who have to be accommodated in New Plymouth by the same provider that now operates a facility in Wanganui and that wants to accommodate these Wanganui people locally but cannot, because the ministry will not allow it; and what, if anything, does the Minister intend to do about that?
There was a time recently—I apologise to the member; I do not have my timing absolutely right—when the Ministry of Health went into the Wanganui area asking for those who would like to provide services that the member refers to. It turned out that, at that time, it was suggested by the people who were consulted that there was no need for such a service. If a need has arisen since, the ministry will look to address it, but the ministry will not open a new facility if only one or two people need to go into it. If there are more, we would happily look at it afresh.
Does the Minister really believe that paediatricians and obstetricians are going to be attracted to Wanganui, given that the money he is giving to Wanganui will support only a basic birthing unit, or is this, as a member of the public announced at the community meeting earlier this week, a deliberate agenda of the Government to move secondary maternity services to Palmerston North?
I thank the member for coming to the point, and I can say to her, without any reservation at all, there is no secret agenda with this Government and the health services of Wanganui.
There is no secret agenda. We support the provision of secondary health services in Wanganui. We are delighted that Wanganui is about to have a $30-million investment in its hospital services. That is the sort of thing a Government can do for the people of Wanganui, when it does not have huge tax cuts on its mind.
Will the Minister now accept that with big problems in acute paediatric services, home care for the elderly, funding for palliative care, obstetric services, specialist services for acquired brain injury sufferers, and a shortage of ambulance services, health care in Wanganui is in crisis and that it is his job to ensure the safety of Wanganui people and to stop hiding behind the hard-working health providers in Wanganui?
I am not hiding behind anyone, and neither are the hard-working health professionals in Wanganui. The sort of thing the hard-working health professionals in Wanganui have done since the change of Government is to increase surgical discharges in Wanganui by 35 percent. That is the sort of thing that can happen when a Government pays attention to building a public health service, and does not have tax cuts on its mind.
Does he still stand by his comments made in the House yesterday that Wanganui is better off than most district health boards?
Actually, probably I do not. Because when I think about it, most district health boards are getting new hospitals. There are now something like 24 or 25 new-hospital, or refurbishment, projects in the scheme of things. Some are completed and some about to be started. That is a huge amount of investment from this Government into the public health system. When I think about it, the main difference between us and National is that it ran the hospitals down in the 1990s and we are building them, a lot.
Gerry BrownleeI seek leave to table a document indicating that some 36 hospitals were shut down by Helen Clark during her term as Health Minister in the late 1980s.
Madam SPEAKER