11. Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
Does he stand by the Ministry of Health’s statement that “We are no longer having to send patients to Australia for radiotherapy; that was always a short-term solution until we had adequate staff trained and infrastructure in place.”; if so, why?
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) Link to this
The Ministry of Health advises me that such steps are always short term and are always taken to protect the health of patients. While the health system continues to have success in training and hiring more radiotherapists, district health boards have a responsibility to do whatever it takes to offer timely treatment to cancer patients when pressures arise, including any pressures brought about by industrial action.
When 30 women in Auckland are to be sent to Australia for cancer treatment because of growing radiotherapy waiting times in New Zealand, will New Zealand be able to treat its own cancer patients going forward, or is taking cancer patients away from their families for weeks on end and treating them in Australia to become a normal part of the New Zealand health system?
Probably the best way to answer that question is to advise the member that approximately 30 women in Auckland have been offered treatment in Australia, and that somewhere over 2,000 people in Auckland are treated with radiotherapy annually.
Dianne YatesThe Labour-led Government moved early in its first term to begin training more radiotherapists after National had ignored warnings about a workforce crisis since 1996. The results have been a 30 percent increase in the number of radiotherapists working in district health boards and a doubling in the number of trainees graduating. Still, the number of new trainees in training, coupled with the pressure of increased referrals and industrial action, means that radiotherapy services are not yet immune to delays.
Does he agree with the former Minister of Health, Annette King, that sending patients to Australia risks the public thinking that New Zealand’s hospitals do not have the ability to treat our own cancer patients, and are any other cancer centres in New Zealand considering sending patients to Australia?
The answer to the first question is that in respect of 30 people out of 2,000 or 2,500, the perspective of how many can be treated in New Zealand is thus offered. In respect of the second question, I think the Capital and Coast District Health Board may be considering sending some to Australia. It has offered to send some patients out of Wellington already, although all patients so far have elected to remain in Wellington and be treated there.
Does the Minister not realise that one of the most pressing responsibilities facing him as Minister of Health is to deal with these major workforce issues throughout the health system, and that despite 7 years, countless reports, and endless blaming of the previous Government, this Government still does not have enough staff or equipment to provide a sufficient level of cancer care for New Zealand women facing the trauma of breast cancer?
I am speaking in response to a question from a member who was a part of a Government that did nothing. Since this Government has come into office, the number of radiation therapists on the job has increased by 30 percent, and the number of radiation therapists we are training and who are graduating out of our school in this country has doubled. The member ought not to say we have done nothing. What we have done is fix up another disgraceful gap left by his Government.
Dr Jackie BlueWhy, 7 years after this Labour Government took office, 42 health reports later, and with the Minister’s own ministry predicting that the breast cancer burden is set to increase dramatically in the next decade, are the cancer centres still facing chronic staff shortages and a lack of equipment to meet future capacity?
The member has not heard that we have increased capacity extraordinarily, including an increase of 30 percent in the capacity of radiation therapists. More are coming, because the number of graduates coming through our school in this country has doubled. But, on top of that, we have opened breast cancer screening services around the country in order to better assess early detection of breast cancer. That will lead to further treatment, which will save further lives of New Zealanders.