6. Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What consideration, if any, is the Government giving to reducing the number of district health boards, and why?
Why, then, did he candidly inform a conference in Auckland that he was going to do something about the number of district health boards, when he now says he is not?
Which version of the Minister’s story is correct: the one he told the Healthcare Providers conference, which was that he was going to do something about the number of district health boards, or the one he is telling the House now?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
May I quote from a comment I made to that conference: “Linda is quite right. The last thing the sector wants is wholesale structural slaughter because it takes a lot of money and a lot of time and you end up back in square one with a different letterhead.” May I repeat that the Government has absolutely no plans to reduce the number of district health boards.
Barbara StewartWould he concede that the original decision to have 21 district health boards in order to maintain existing communities of interest and to enable greater community input has been overtaken by funding constraints and workforce shortages, and that it is time for a review to assess what changes are necessary; if not, why not?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
No, but what I will say is that it is essential that the district health boards work together as a cohesive and integrated network. We therefore will insist on more cooperation and collaboration, including through shared procurement, regional clinical services, and greater national coordination of the underlying enablers.
So what did he mean in this interchange with the audience at the Healthcare Providers conference: “Mr Cunliffe: Have we got too many DHBs? Audience: Yes. Mr Cunliffe: Are we going to do something about that? Audience: No. Mr Cunliffe: Well, I wouldn’t be too sure, because I’ve been working overdrive in the last wee while, and I’ve got a lot of stuff going through Cabinet, and we will be making announcements before the election.”; what did he mean when he spoke then about reducing the number of district health boards?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Madam Speaker—[ Interruption] We have already got material through Cabinet, for that member’s information. It refers to the matters I just spoke of to the previous member who asked a question, including regional shared service networks—which I note are in the member’s own discussion document—shared procurement, and more efficient national integration of the underlying enablers. All these matters will give greater productivity and value for money, which I would have thought all parties in the House would agree on.
Hon Tariana Turia Link to this
Tēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Will the Minister review the funder/provider role of the district health boards, and is he concerned that the community and non-governmental organisation sector finds it hard to compete with the district health boards for contracts?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
There are no plans to review that aspect of the district health board system.
Is not the Minister’s new desire for greater collaboration between the district health boards—despite his telling the conference otherwise—another example of his copying the National Party’s proposals, with the list now including more medical student places, clinical networks, greater involvement of doctors in planning, capping the number of ministry bureaucrats, and smarter use of the private sector? He will soon announce student loan write-offs, to complete his imitation.
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I refer to a speech I gave in May of this year, which recorded excellent examples of partnership arrangements, joint purchasing, and regional clinical networks. I concluded by saying that I encouraged those collaborations to continue.
Can the Minister confirm today that he is working on plans affecting communities and their district health boards throughout the country, that those plans include taking at least 11 papers through the Cabinet process, and that he is not prepared to tell the people of those communities what he has in store for them?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
The Government has indeed been working hard to progress the evolution of the health system, and a great deal of work has been going through Cabinet. I look forward to giving a series of major speeches in the near future that will tell the member everything he needs to know.