7. Health Services—Funding Levels and Treatment InjuriesHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of HealthHealth Services—Funding Levels and Treatment Injuries7. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Is he confident that health professionals have the resources required to provide quality health outcomes for New Zealanders?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Yes. Those health professionals include an extra 6000 doctors and nurses since 2008 those resources include an extra $2.2 billion over 4 years announced in Budget 2016 and those outcomes include an extra 119000 specialist appointments and 53000 extra operations per year compared with figures for 2008. Of course there will always be a debate about what the right level of resourcing is. Otherwise there would not be anything for Mrs King to do in Parliament. However I am—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That is not necessary is it?Mr SPEAKER: No it certainly is not necessary. It is an answer that does not help the order of the House but in itself—[Interruption] Order! In itself it is not unparliamentary. There are no rules I can deal with. I will deal with it in another way. Sue Moroney: Why have claims for patients being injured while receiving healthcare increased by 96 percent between 2008 and 2016?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Of course the member would know that that is a question for the Minister for ACC but actually it is not totally clear what the drivers of those increased claims are. There could be a range of factors at play. It could be increased claiming behaviour it could be the increasing medico-legal climate regarding litigation it could also be due to the increasing volumes of people being treated through our hospitals it could be the growth in population and of course it could be the fact that we can do more and more complex procedures for patients. All of them could be possible contributions to what you are talking about there.Sue Moroney: Is it possible that his underfunding of health services by $1.7 billion is the real reason that treatment injury costs have risen by 230 percent since 2008?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No it is not possible because what she is claiming actually is not the case. The member knows that $1.7 billion has not been cut from the budget. In actual fact the budget has gone up by $4 billion. So to make out that it is otherwise—you are dealing with your own imaginary world with regard to the financing of health.Sue Moroney: Is there a link then between more than 1000 resident doctors reporting being so fatigued they were worried that clinical mistakes had been made and this massive increase in treatment injuries under his watch?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No more so than there is a link between the record majorities that members enjoy in every seat that Sue Moroney stands for.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That does not even attempt to address the question. Would the Minister now address the question.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Well I said no. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The matter is—[Interruption] Order! The public of New Zealand will judge the Minister's answer for themselves.Sue Moroney: Is he concerned then that due to the increased number of mistakes being made in the overstretched poorly resourced health services the ACC board believes the cost of treatment injuries will overtake the cost of work injuries as being the most costly by the year 2023 if his regime is not stopped?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Look I point out that I am not the Minister for ACC but I disagree with the essential assertion that she is making.