Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:610;Page:7910] 
10.  
JILL PETTIS (NZ Labour—Whanganui) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Health 
: What recent initiatives has the Government announced to improve health for people in rural areas? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Associate Minister of Health) 
: 
 Last Friday a funding package was announced to help rural nurses become nurse practitioners with prescribing rights. The package will help clinical nurse specialists in rural practices to take 1 year off to complete the necessary study to bring their qualifications up to nurse practitioner level. Nurses in rural areas are finding it difficult to meet the necessary criteria to be approved as practitioners because of their isolation and the difficulty in getting replacement locums. This scheme will help them. 
Jill Pettis 
: What other measures have been announced to support improved health outcomes in rural New Zealand? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: This announcement is one more part of the rural funding package of $32 million announced last year by this Government which is going towards ensuring a better quality of care and better access for people in rural areas. For example last month I announced the establishment of the rural primary health-care recruitment service. This initiative is helping to ease the burden and reduce costs met by rural providers in recruiting primary health-care workers in rural areas. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: Has the Minister seen the letter to the Minister of Health from Dr Paul Noonan a rural general practitioner of 21 years in Matamata who is leaving general practice because of inadequate locum cover and because primary health organisations are forcing one ideological race-based system on all in a way he describes as medically and morally unsound; and how does losing such an experienced general practitioner possibly help rural general practices? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I do not in any way accept the claims made by that general practitioner. There will always be individuals who have their opinion. We have put in place many schemes in rural areas. The rural recruitment scheme the locum replacement scheme and the rural retention scheme help and assist general practitioners. The establishment and development of primary health organisations will again assist in spreading the workload for many general practitioners working under pressure in rural New Zealand. 
Pita Paraone 
: Can those living in rural areas be guaranteed medical care in times of emergency? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: This Government is doing everything possible to ensure that people in rural areas get health care when they need it. We are looking at the ambulatory services throughout this country and we are boosting the skills of rural nurse practitioners so that they can as the first point of contact deal with the trauma that they often come across. 
Ian Ewen-Street 
: Is the Minister aware that the primary determinate of poor health is poverty whether rural or urban; if so will he be advising the Minister for Social Development and Employment to drop his plan to cut the benefits of people living in rural areas with higher unemployment because it will lead to poor health outcomes; if not why not? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I am not aware of any initiatives to cut the benefits of anyone in any area of New Zealand. My good friend and colleague Mr Maharey is putting in place schemes that will upskill people and assist them into employment and give them better incomes so that they can improve their health status. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: Does this Government see the increase in rural nurse practitioners as complementary to medical care or does it intend to replace general practitioners with nurses as rural general practitioners leave practices due to the primary health organisation strategy as Dr Noonan is doing? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Rural nurse practitioners will be complementary. I would like to quote the member herself when she said: “There’s nothing wrong with nurse practitioners working in practices.”