8. Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
When he said that the quality of care at Focus 2000 Ltd was “no better or worse than the quality of care anywhere else around the country.”, did he have confidence in the auditing systems used to assess disability services, and does he still have confidence in those systems?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Associate Minister of Health) Link to this
Yes and yes. The quality control and auditing systems used by the Ministry of Health are comprehensive, but no system is perfect.
When the Minister of Health told Parliament yesterday that he had received new information from a variety of sources about Focus 2000 mainly during the course of Friday with a little more over the weekend, why did he not pass that information on to the Ministry of Health, given that the ministry confirmed this morning that the Minister has not passed on any new information or allegations already in the public arena, nor has it received any material from the weekend; and should he not be passing on that information, which the Minister himself called “potentially serious” allegations, to Ministry of Health officials who are meeting with Focus 2000 representatives tomorrow?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I understand that information has been passed on. Those allegations, and they are allegations, are being investigated.
Ann HartleyHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
If people have complaints, they should express their concerns to service providers. If they are not pleased with the reactions of service providers, they should immediately approach either the Ministry of Health, the Health and Disability Commissioner, or the Minister of Health, so their complaints can be investigated.
If the Minister did indeed pass on all the information he had to the Ministry of Health, why then was he telling Parliament yesterday that he could not give members any details in order to protect both the privacy of individuals and the national interest, when the Ministry of Health revealed this morning that all that information is already in the public arena and there are no secretive new allegations, as the Minister has tried to suggest?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
The rights of the complainants to privacy must be upheld. The accusations are being investigated by the Ministry of Health, and its officials will meet with the provider tomorrow.
Why does the Minister of Health not treat the issues around Focus 2000 with the due seriousness that is appropriate, instead of embarking on that campaign of media spin about secretive allegations to protect the names of people who have been interviewed on the radio and who have given their names; or is all that part of a plan to cover up his embarrassment at yet again jumping the gun and being caught out in endorsing an organisation that he now does not want to endorse?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
The Minister of Health, and the ministry, are committed to due process wherever complaints are made. They are not undertaking some kind of cheap political campaign at the expense of disabled people in this country—as the National Party seems determined to do.