King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 27 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8978. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Is he confident that the Government’s initiative to provide “Better Sooner More Convenient” health care is meeting his expectations; if not why not? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes but there is always room for improvement. I am also confident that the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board has made a very good decision to confirm 24/7 acute services at Wairau Hospital especially when you think that the Government has invested an extra $48 million in that district health board over the last few years. 
Hon Annette King 
: Well in light of that answer have general practitioners been advised by the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board that there are over 500 outstanding referrals for surgery that need to be seen by the end of June which is well in excess of its capability and with its current capability it will be able to deal with only malignancies and not much else? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Yes I did read that story in the  
Nelson Mail 
 or the  
Marlborough Express 
 last week and I did look into it. I have been assured by the chief executive of the district health board that those 500 people who are waiting for an FSA a first specialist assessment will be seen by a specialist. They will not be culled from a waiting list like the 30000— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon Annette King 
: Have general practitioners in the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board been advised that surgeons will not be able to see conditions that are less than urgent and some referrals will be returned without even being seen? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Yes that was in a newspaper article last week which referred to a letter sent out by someone from the hospital. I have been assured by the district health board that that does not reflect what will happen in that area. What I can in fact tell you is that in the whole of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board they are doing far more specialist assessments than they ever did and in fact I have been advised that the only time there was a significant reduction in the access to seeing a specialist at the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board was when there was a 10 percent cut when that member was the Minister of Health. 
Hon Annette King 
: Has the head of the department of general surgery in the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board apologised to general practitioners for the sorry state of affairs at the district health board and told them that the board must comply with the ministry directives or face financial penalty? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I think that was reported in the newspaper last week about what the general surgeon said but I have to say that in fact what I know is happening in the Nelson-Marlborough area is that they are actually providing more operations more specialist services more support for the people of Nelson-Marlborough and you would expect that when you put an extra $48 million into that district health board over the last 4 years. 
Hon Annette King 
: I seek leave to table a letter from the head of the department of general surgery Nelson Marlborough District Health Board to all the general practitioners in the board’s area outlining the issues exactly as I have raised them in the House today. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table the letter from the head of department. Is there any objection to that being tabled? There appears to be none. It can be tabled. 









Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.