Dyson Ruth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Dyson Ruth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:661;Page:10032] 
4. 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Does he stand by all his statements about health services? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes including the statement that Labour culled over 30000 people from hospital waiting lists. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: What does he say to Dr Sandy Simpson another front-line experienced mental health specialist who is heading overseas who said on  
Nine to Noon 
 yesterday: “Front-line mental health services are suffering. The reality this year is that the squeeze is horrible and the cost of providing services is not being met.”? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I would say two things. The first is that the Government has increased the budget for mental health services by $85 million. The second thing I would say is that under the previous Government back-office bureaucracy grew from 8000 managers and administrators in district health boards to over 10500 managers and administrators. Our cap is working and we are employing more nurses and other personnel than previously. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Which is correct: the statements made by Marion Blake chief executive of the non-governmental organisation Platform who said it was facing a funding cut in Wellington alone of $2 million in mental health services or the Minister’s reported comments that planned changes in front-line services should not threaten non-governmental organisation services? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I am aware that the Capital and Coast District Health Board in preparing its annual plan is looking at how it can address the fact that the previous Government left it delivering over $60 million in unfunded services. Despite the fact that this Government has increased the overall funding for the Capital and Coast District Health Board by more than $32 million this year and will give it more next year changes will have to be made. 
Michael Woodhouse 
: What reports has the Minister seen in relation to delivering better health services? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The House will appreciate that in order for our 21 district health boards to have security and certainty in their services they need to be on a solid financial footing. Members will also recall that the new Government inherited a district health board sector that was on track to a financial crisis with unfunded services assessed at $155 million worth and forecast to grow to over $200 million worth. I am pleased to say that as a result of the Government putting a record $536 million into the district health boards and those boards looking carefully at their plans the health service is turning round from that track to financial crisis and it is expected to have a significant improvement in the amount of unfunded services this next financial year. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: When he said at the Sprott House event last week “this Government is committed to supporting our elderly to stay in their homes as long as they can.” was it better and more convenient for him to forget about the hundreds of elderly people in Otago and Southland who have had their home help cut? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I think what is apposite to that comment is to refer to a recent report in  
Grey Power Lobby Report 
 about when Grey Power met the member opposite. They reported on the Opposition spokesperson on health in relation to health care saying: “She is totally against assessing by telephone and has stated that the only way to assess a person is to visit them in their homes to see firsthand how they are coping.” That is what she said about Otago and Southland. What is interesting is that it was in fact Mrs Dyson’s Government that formalised telephone assessments as a pilot in 2006 and further it was Mrs Dyson’s Government that voted for the public money to roll out that project nationally in the 2008 Budget. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Is it not a bit rich for him to continue to describe his cuts as changes when Dr Simpson who has had over 20 years of mental health advocacy said “the current cuts are frankly worrying. They cannot continue to deliver the services at the size that they are at the moment. There will be further cuts.”? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: No.