Health Services—Minister’s Statement

I tell you what; if you want to go on like that, we are waiting for Chris Carter to start telling the truth about you, “Dazza”. All right, so I would get—

I have to confess that I have no idea what all that was about—

Would you like the answer, Mr Speaker?

—and the Minister does not need to inform me. No one needs to inform me; I would rather ignore what that was all about. I was on my feet and the Minister continued talking. He will not do that again.

As the Minister replied to the same question yesterday, every district health board provides several hundred different services each year to meet the changing needs of their population. Under this Government, front-line services overall are increasing, as has the budget by $512 million this year. So he stands by that statement.

Are the people of Masterton who are being turned away by their general practitioner super-clinic getting extra services; if so, where from?

Wagner Nicky Wagner Link to this

I cannot confirm the situation there, because the question put on notice made no reference to what was happening in Masterton. But I can say that the people of Wairarapa have had an increase in funding from their district health board of $7 million over the past 2 years. So there is more money going into health in the Wairarapa.

What reports has he received recently on increased front-line services, particularly for older New Zealanders?

Yesterday the Minister advised the House that the number of patients receiving elective and acute surgery in the past financial year increased by over 12,000 over the previous year—more than four times the average achieved by the previous Government. Today I can inform the House that in relation to surgical services for older New Zealanders, in the last 2 years the number of patients aged over 65 benefiting from urgent and elective surgery increased by over 10,500 people. A record total of 93,000 patients aged 65-plus benefited from acute or elective surgery in the last year. That is yet another example of increased front-line services under this Government.

Why has the Capital and Coast District Health Board lost its chief executive, who left saying he would not oversee further cuts, and has now lost both the acting chief executive and the chair, Sir John Anderson; is it because the Wellington region is awash with extra services or awash with health cuts?

I can tell the member that we were left with a massive problem by the previous Government—[ Interruption]

I am on my feet. An answer should not start with a lecture about the previous Government. An answer should start with an attempt to say something about the question. I invite the Hon Ruth Dyson to repeat her question.

I can tell the member again that the Capital and Coast District Health Board received an extra $24 million last year from this Government, and an extra $33 million from this Government the year before. Under the previous Government, the chief executive was dealing with turning round a district health board in terminal decline and a massive deficit that it had been lumbered with by that Government.

Is the clinical director who described Christchurch Hospital’s intensive care unit as “in crisis” and said that the staff at the intensive care unit were turning a blind eye to care levels lower than expected a result of the extra services he was describing?

I have read the same newspaper as that member has, and I have the same article. The fact is that the Canterbury District Health Board has had an extra $102 million under this Government and it is spending that money as it sees fit. The Minister of Health has been in touch with the Canterbury District Health Board and, as is quoted in the article the member refers to, there will be a Christchurch Hospital redevelopment, which will include a significant increase in beds. I can tell members that its intensive care unit has had an increase of 16 extra nurses, seven extra junior doctors, and an extra one and a half full-time equivalent specialists this year.

What extra services will the residents of IDEA Services and Timata Hou Services be getting as a result of the Minister’s refusal to comply with the Employment Court determinations of last year and this year in relation to payment of the minimum wage for night-time support staff?

Roy Hon Heather Roy Link to this

As the Minister of Health said yesterday in the House, that is a matter for the provider.

What does it cost to select and run the 20 district health boards, and what extra health services do they provide?

Hughes Hon Darren Hughes Link to this

As members know, $1.2 billion is going into health. It is a very expensive—

$1.2 billion?

Roy Hon Heather Roy Link to this

Sorry, $1.2 billion of extra funding has gone into health this year—$512 million over 4 years, and $174 million for mental health. So there is more money, more operations, and more cancer treatment, and more people are being seen in accident and emergency. The public are getting better service under this Government than they got under the last one.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think the Minister misunderstood my question. I was not asking about Vote Health; I was asking about the cost to select and run the district health boards themselves. I am happy to repeat my question.

Roy Hon Heather Roy Link to this

I invite the member to repeat her question, because it may well be it was not heard correctly.

What does it cost to select and run the district health boards, and what extra health services do they provide?