2. Question No. 2—HealthDr SHANE RETI (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 2—Health2. Dr SHANE RETI (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of Health: What is his plan to manage current demand for health services around winter illness and how has he assured himself that district health board services are safe?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): In response to the first part of the member's question the health system is there to deliver health services whenever people need them. As that member well knows it is not uncommon to have spikes in particular infections especially during winter and that's what is happening now. In response to the second part of the member's question I have assured myself that the district health boards are safe because this Government funds them properly in contrast to that member's party in Government.Dr Shane Reti: Which DHBs if any have had to manage admitted patients in hospital corridors and playrooms in the past month due to demand?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The district health boards are there to make sure that they provide the services that are needed. It is not uncommon for there to be winter spikes in infections. The DHBs planned for that are prepared for that and right now they are putting their plans in action to provide safe services for the babies who are needing their help because of RSV.Dr Shane Reti: How many of the 11 sick babies if any are still being cared for in a playroom at Middlemore Hospital as they were when reported last week?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As I understand it the hospital took the step of taking an available space removing the toys and the chairs and making it available as a place for babies when they came in for their initial attention from that hospital as a decision was made about whether they needed to be admitted or not. That is a standard practice that hospitals do particularly when there are winter spikes in infection.Dr Shane Reti: What is the Government's plan if any for the growing number of children presenting with respiratory syncytial virus RSV?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Government's don't take clinical decisions on particular infections but what we do do is make sure that we invest properly in the health system. So whereas the previous Government over nine years increased health funding by $3.7 billion this Government in less than four years has increased funding by over $4 billion. Where the previous Government invested roughly a billion dollars over nine years in Government we have invested more than $5 billion to upgrade facilities because of the sheer and utter neglect by the previous Government.Dr Shane Reti: What actions if any has he taken to improve the nurse-to-patient safety ratios in our hospitals as they come under increasing pressure from winter illness?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Unlike the previous Government this Government entered into an agreement with the DHBs and with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation to look at safe staffing levels to implement the programme called Care Capacity Demand Management. Ten DHBs have now fully implemented that programme. Ten are left to go but this is a Government that takes seriously the concerns by our health workforce who were neglected by the previous Government.Dr Shane Reti: Do DHBs have enough funding to cope with the current surge in demand due to winter illnesses like RSV given this year's Budget cut operational DHB funding by 30 percent compared to last year?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: That member is completely and utterly incorrect. When you look at that party in Government's track record of funding hospitals compared to ours it simply does not compare. So we increased funding for hospitals this year by roughly 4.4 percent. The average level of increase by the previous Government was roughly about 1 percent. I stand on the record of this Government and its commitment to health and to safe health services for all New Zealanders.