7. BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
Is he aware that public hospital bed numbers have declined from 2.48 per 1,000 people in 1988 to 1.56 in 2006 although our population has increased significantly in that time, and what is being done to solve the problems arising from this decline?
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Associate Minister of Health) Link to this
I am advised that the biggest decline in hospital bed numbers per head of population occurred during the 9 years of the last National Government. By contrast, this Government has been engaged in the largest hospital building and redevelopment programme in New Zealand’s history. We have built seven new hospitals, done eight major upgrades, and built 10 new specialist facilities, and seven more hospital redevelopments are almost complete or are under way. That record would stand against that of any Government in New Zealand’s history, and is in stark contrast to the pitiful efforts of the last National Government.
Is the Minister of Health aware of estimates by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine that a 15 percent increase in bed numbers is needed, and will this increase be achieved under the Government’s hospital building campaign?
The Government has shown a commitment to investing in infrastructure. However, it is important to take a holistic approach to relieving pressure on emergency departments, and that work is currently under way at the Ministry of Health. The work will look at how we can make hospitals more efficient, and will look at the role of primary health care, where about 12 million people received treatment last year, to find out whether more resources are needed. If they are needed, this Government will allocate them in a way that the National Government never got round to doing in its 9 years in office.
Lynne PillayWhat is the Government doing to ensure that health infrastructure keeps pace with the increasing population and new ways of delivering health services?
As I have indicated, there have been new hospitals, upgrades, new specialist facilities, 1,000 more doctors, and 4,000 more nurses. The track record of this Government in health bears little resemblance to any track record of any other Government in recent history, so we can be very proud of that. Is it perfect? No, it is not. Is it in crisis? No, it certainly is not.
How many existing hospitals, such as Kenepuru Hospital in Porirua, are currently underutilised, when they could be used to reduce the bed shortage?
I do not have information on exactly that, but I am quite sure the Ministry of Health and the district health boards are working together cooperatively and constructively to make sure they get the best use out of all the hospital facilities and resources that are available to us.
Hon Tony RyallIf the Government has spent so much money and built so many more hospitals, why is the public health system lurching from crisis to crisis in the final months of this dying Government?
I think I have given enough facts before the House today to deny any kind of crisis in the health system. The alternative is that the health system is being well managed and is being invested in in ways that have never happened in recent years. The member tries to gee himself up, like someone in the dark yelling out to cheer himself up, but, actually, this Government has an incredible record in terms of health and hospital care, and we will stand on that record and not let the facts get in the way of our prejudice.