1. JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does she have confidence in the Minister of Health?
What does it say about the state of health care in this country when 13 members of the senior medical advisory committee at Waitemata District Health Board feel compelled to issue a public statement complaining about, amongst other things, treatment delays, postponed operations, and a severe shortage of beds; if the senior doctors working at Waitemata District Health Board no longer have confidence in the system, why should the public of New Zealand?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
As someone who has been a Minister of Health, I know the demand for resources is infinite. I am sure that the Leader of the Opposition is not in the business of promising everybody everything they want—unless, perhaps, he is.
Why will the Prime Minister not answer the question—these are the 13 senior members of the medical council at the Waitemata District Health Board who have gone public and said they have major concerns about their confidence in the health system; if she is not prepared to answer the question, why does she not let someone else answer it, because the people of New Zealand deserve to know whether they can have confidence in the health system?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
If the member really wanted an answer to that question, he would have put it down in a primary question. I invite him to do so.
Madam SPEAKERWhat does the Prime Minister therefore have to say to New Zealand women operated on unsuccessfully by a surgeon who was appointed by the Whanganui District Health Board without it doing the basic background checks?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
That was an appalling state of affairs. I note the specialist also got registration through the totally autonomous Medical Council.
What is the Prime Minister’s response to the people of Hawke’s Bay who are outraged that her Minister has sacked the democratically elected district health board, promoting legal challenges from all five of the region’s local authorities?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
It is very important that the Government is assured that a board can deliver quality health services for Hawke’s Bay, which clearly the dysfunction in this board and in its relationships with its staff have stopped it doing.
Sue KedgleyDoes the Prime Minister agree that the sacking of the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board has exposed the political reality that district health boards exist to be a rubber stamp to the Minister of the day, to take the rap when things go wrong, and to be swiftly removed from office if they step out of line or challenge the Minister of Health in any way; if not, why not?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I would not have thought such a conclusion could be drawn from the fact that one board has been dismissed, and a good commissioner put in, since 1989.
Rodney HideHow does the Prime Minister intend to allay the understandable concern that the Minister’s appointee Peter Hausmann was abusing his board position to arrange a sweetheart deal for himself and employed the Minister’s husband to help him out on that sweetheart deal, and that the Minister has now sacked the entire board in order to cover up what is a stinking and corrupt mess?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I very much look forward to the release of the report commissioned by the Director-General of Health on this matter. I note that its release was held up because the last board took out an injunction against it. That was Mr Atkinson and other National Party friends, who did not want the truth to come out.
How can New Zealanders possibly have confidence in the New Zealand health service run by the Prime Minister’s Government, when in just the last few weeks we have seen the following: a report released that shows the chance of having a medical mishap in New Zealand hospitals is one in seven; the Health and Disability Commissioner slam the Whanganui District Health Board; an independent, external review of Auckland’s mental health unit document a string of serious failures; seven doctors at the Waitemata District Health Board go public about the state of their hospital; and the Prime Minister herself not even bother to answer questions about what is wrong with the health system?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I invite the member to look at comparative information about how the Kiwi health system stacks up. It stacks up very well against international comparisons. I will say without fear of contradiction that most of us have family members or close acquaintances who have been delivered lifesaving care by the Kiwi health system, and long may that be the case.