3. JILL PETTIS (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
How does New Zealand perform in terms of OECD statistics in cardiac health care?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Health) Link to this
New Zealand’s health professionals should be very proud of the latest OECD figures. New Zealand, as this graph I have here shows, has the best 30-day survival rate for hospital treatment of a heart attack in the entire OECD. It shows that cardiac health services in this country are among the best in the world. The Government is preventing heart disease by tackling obesity through programmes to improve nutrition and to get people physically active.
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
This Government is getting real results in health and it is tackling the disparities of the 1990s. There has been a 24 percent increase in consultation rates for the elderly, as we have lowered general practitioner fees—something Mr Ryall seeks to reverse. The latest cancer waiting times show that 97 percent of people referred for radiation treatment receive it within 6 months, and 80 percent receive it within the first 4 weeks.
Barbara StewartWill the Minister make respiratory illness, including asthma, a priority population health objective in the New Zealand Health Strategy, now that the OECD report has highlighted our shortcomings regarding deaths from asthma?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
There is no doubt that investing in primary and preventive health care, including investing in respiratory illnesses, pays big dividends for the welfare of our people and the downstream cost to the health budget.
Dr Jackie BlueWhy is it that according to these latest OECD statistics, New Zealand’s death rate from heart disease is almost 50 percent higher than Australia’s; and is it maybe because Australia chooses to invest upfront in more modern medicines that actually prevent heart attacks and strokes, which is an approach that saves both lives and money?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
As shown in this graph, New Zealand’s fatality rates, post - heart attack trauma, are lower than those of Australia.
Is the Minister aware that one in four New Zealand children are affected by respiratory disease; and will that influence his priorities?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Respiratory disease, like diabetes and the other complications of obesity, is amongst some of the primary drivers of ill health in our young people, and it must be addressed.