4. Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Hunua) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What progress is being made in providing faster cancer treatment to New Zealanders?
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) Link to this
As the House will be aware, reducing waiting times for cancer treatment is one of the Government’s top priorities. Next year that target wait-time will reduce from 6 weeks to a world-standard 4 weeks. The Government is today investing almost $4 million extra into the cancer centres to help provide faster treatment for patients. This extra investment will mean that, for example, patients at the MidCentral District Health Board’s cancer centre are expected to start their radiation treatment at least 5 days sooner, and those at the Waikato centre at least 2 days sooner; the Auckland centre will be able to see up to five extra patients a day; and the Southern District Health Board centre will see an extra 10 patients a day.
Dr Paul Hutchison Link to this
What other initiatives has the Government established that provide faster cancer treatment for New Zealanders?
As part of last year’s election policy, the Government promised to fund 12 months of Herceptin treatment for women with HER2-positive breast cancer. I can advise the House that the monthly treatment volumes increased from 19 in December 2008 to 234 in June this year, meaning 400 women received publicly funded Herceptin. The shorter cancer waiting-times and the increased numbers of women benefiting from Herceptin treatment are further examples of improving front-line services under this Government.