Stewart Barbara: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeStewart Barbara: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 March 2015. Volume:703;Page:2118. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) to the Minister of Health: Does he have confidence that the Ministry of Health is providing the best public health service for rural New Zealand communities?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Yes. Last year the Government provided record funding of $11.4 billion for district health boards including specific funding to support the rural communities that they serve. Rural health service delivery has been particularly strong in Northland where last week I met with hard-working Bay of Islands Hospital staff and primary care providers. They were just part of the extra 74 doctors and 99 nurses employed by the Northland District Health Board under this Government.Barbara Stewart: Can the Minister confirm that the Waitematā District Health Board will not close down the Wellsford community health office after the 6-month lease expires meaning that Wellsford residents will have to travel 21 kilometres through to Warkworth in order to receive their necessary health care?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: What I can say is that the Waitematā District Health Board has had a huge increase in funding in the last year. It is very well chaired and basically it is having to put its services where the public is best placed to access them. It is all about delivering the best possible health care for New Zealanders.Barbara Stewart: Why has the Ministry of Health allowed the Wellsford community health office to be relocated to a public space where people now need to walk through the so-called office to use the bathroom facilities?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Look I am not familiar with the bathroom arrangements in the Wellsford health office but I am sure the district health board is doing its very best to make sure that both health and bathroom facilities are made available for the people of Wellsford.Barbara Stewart: Is the Minister concerned that more rural health offices will be forced to close or be forced to move to unsuitable locations once the additional $200 million in spending cuts are made to district health board budgets later this year; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: What I can tell the member is that there has been an extra $95 million poured into the Northland District Health Board in the last year and more doctors more nurses and much more elective surgery. We have had free under-13 doctor visits there. They are doing very well on immunisation so basically health provision in Northland is improving all the time.Joanne Hayes: What progress has been made in delivering better access to elective surgery for Northlanders?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: A very good question. Over the past 6 years a remarkable 9367 extra Northlanders received elective operations over and above the level that Labour was delivering in 2008 including an extra 2616 Northlanders who received surgery last year. This Government is delivering more and more surgery for Northlanders and that is a direct result of our proactive approach to delivering health care services in Northland.Tracey Martin: Can the Minister confirm that he understands that Wellsford and Te Hana are in the Northland electorate and in the Northland area and can he explain why spending is being cut in Wellsford and Te Hana if the rest of Northland is doing so well?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The member is right. The rest of Northland is doing very well as is Wellsford and the people in Wellsford have access to top-class health care services.