3. Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
Does he still stand by his policy to deliver better, sooner, and more convenient health care?
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) Link to this
Despite inheriting a lot of problems, I can say that we have today announced a major shake-up in the administrative side of the public health service. It is estimated that these changes will save up to $700 million over the next 5 years, and will reduce the number of administrative staff by up to 500 over time. All the resources that are freed up will be reinvested into front-line health services.
What are the major changes to the administrative core of the public health system that he has announced?
The announcement covers a comprehensive range of decisions, flowing from the ministerial review group’s 170 recommendations. We are establishing a National Health Board as a unit within the Ministry of Health. It will provide a stronger, unified, and more focused approach to managing and supervising the funding of our 21 district health boards. The board will unify the planning and delivery of information technology, of the workforce, and of capital, which are currently spread across a myriad of agencies and district health boards, and lift performance in this area. We are also devolving funding of up to $2.5 billion, currently managed by the Ministry of Health, to district health boards where that would be appropriate.
Hon Ruth DysonHow much of his projected savings in health will be reversed by the current and projected cost-shifting from the accident compensation scheme to the health service?
I am unable to give the member a specific answer to that, because on the issue of the cost shift what is important is that we have resources available in the public health service to treat patients. This administrative shake-up is all about how we can stop reinventing the wheel in the 21 district health boards and get greater consolidation of back-office functions, harness the power of bulk purchasing, and put up to $700 million over the next 5 years into patient services.
What other plans does he have to move away from 21 district health boards taking 21 different approaches to back-office functions?
We are creating a shared services establishment board to consolidate back-office functions, such as payroll, information technology, human resources, and purchasing. We do not need 21 district health boards to reinvent the wheel on back-office functions such as those. We do not need 21 district health boards to have computer systems that cannot even talk to each other. As I have made very clear to the House, these savings will be significant for the public health service. They are equivalent to delivering 16,000 heart bypasses or building two new city hospitals.
Will he guarantee that his health restructuring and two new health agencies will help Mr Jim Chalmers, whose issue of the cuts to his home help services I raised in the House last week, to get his home help services back?
What it is about is freeing up back-office resources for the very purpose of providing improved front-line services. I can tell the member that the chair of Canterbury District Health Board, Mr Alister James, assures me that there will be more funding available for home help services in Christchurch.