12. Health Services—Hospital Capacity and FundingDr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North) to the Minister of HealthHealth Services—Hospital Capacity and Funding12. Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement there is always financial pressure in the health sector that's nothing new"?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Yes and the best example of the longstanding nature of the issue is that when Labour departed office in 2008 it left a growing district health board (DHB) deficit of over $150 million with Capital and Coast DHB running deficits of $40 million in 2007 $66 million in 2009 and on track to grow rapidly.Dr David Clark: Is he concerned that cash-strapped Wellington Regional Hospital has been over 95 percent occupancy for nearly half of last year; and is putting patients up in motels the night before surgery because there is a shortage of beds the new normal?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I have had a look into that issue of patients staying in motels. I would not overdramatise it—12 patients who were booked for elective surgery over the past financial year have been placed in motel beds the night before. They are only patients who do not need a hospital bed. So they are going in for routine elective surgery—and you know sometimes that has to happen. They are not patients who are needing hospital care so the member should not mischaracterise the situation.Dr David Clark: Is he concerned that last year the following hospitals reported being full more often than in previous years; if not what would it take for him to be concerned? Those hospitals are Auckland Buller Dunedin Invercargill Middlemore North Shore Rotorua Taranaki Wairarapa Waitakere Wellington—Mr SPEAKER: Bring the question to a conclusion quickly.Dr David Clark: —Whakatāne Whanganui and Whangarei.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As usual I would have to go off and check what the member is actually saying. I mean it sounds like those hospitals are working at capacity. But the key thing is that there is more money going to the health system and more people are getting more services than ever before. The member could not I think name a single service that is not better than 8 years ago because out of hundreds of services they have all improved and are delivering more.Dr David Clark: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I did ask what it would take what level it would get to before he was concerned about the situation.Mr SPEAKER: That might have been part of the second part of the question that was asked. The first part was about whether he was concerned about a list of hospitals that were more full this year than last year. The question was definitely addressed.Dr David Clark: Does he think that it is business as usual for Waikato Palmerston North and Wellington hospitals to be reporting full occupancy within the last 2 weeks while struggling to clear their emergency department (ED) backlog? How many hospitals reporting full occupancy or over-capacity over the next month will it take for him to realise that there is a problem?Mr SPEAKER: Again there are two supplementary questions there. The Minister can address either.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Full hospitals are not a new phenomenon. I would note that he mentioned ED backlogs. One of the things we did bring in was the ED waiting time target so that everyone would be in and out of the ED within 6 hours. That has saved 700 lives per year—very different from the days when Labour was running the health system.Dr David Clark: Is he aware that in the past week beds in Ōāmaru Hospital have been full and ambulances and GPs have been told to take patients elsewhere and that during that period Dunedin Hospital was also full at points forcing care out of the DHB?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Once again I would have to check that member's claims but the fact is that in winter in busy times our hospitals are often full. That has always been the case but the key thing is that people are getting the care that they need.Dr David Clark: Why did he say to the Health Committee this morning that he was not aware of the Ministry of Health's survey figures frequently reported in the media that show an estimated half a million people missed out on a GP visit due to costs in the last 12 months alone?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I honestly would have to go and check the transcript of that conversation because I am not sure that he is not misrepresenting my remarks.Dr David Clark: Is the reason he will not lower adult GP fees for those who cannot afford them due to this Government's $2.3 billion shortfall in health funding and the fact that there is no money available to stop fee increases for other patients?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: There are a couple of things here. GPs set their own fees in consultation with the DHBs so they have got certain parameters. The member completely overlooks the fact of free visits for under-13s a policy that Labour could have delivered but never did. When it comes to funding basically we have put $5 billion more into the system. They have got a wish list of $7.3 billion and that is the difference. But this member continues to misrepresent health funding as a cut. Actually it has gone up by $5 billion.Dr David Clark: Supplementary.Mr SPEAKER: No the member has now used all of his supplementary questions."